S  IT  I 


ALEXANDER  PATTERSOTII 


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^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


Presented   by   Pr-esNcicn-t    Pa^^o-n. 

Division  .  AJ^iJ    I  I 
Section   •     L.y^.l 


The  Bible  As  It  Is 


A  Simple  Method  of  Mastering 
Understanding  the  Bible 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  DIAGRAMS  AND  CH 


By  rev.   ALEXANDER  PATTERSON 

AUTHOR  OF   "the  GREATER  LIFE  AND  WORK  OF  CHRIST,"     "tHE  OTHER 
SIDE     OF    EVOLUTION,"     **BIBLE    MANUAL" 


GENESIS  TO  JUDGES 


THE  WINONA  PUBLISHING  CO. 

CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT 

BY  THE  WINONA   PUBLISHING  CO, 

PUBLISHED  1906 


PREFACE 

The  title  of  this  book  gives  its  position,  its  purpose 
and  its  method.  It  is  a  presentation  of  the  Bible 
upon  its  own  claims  for  itself  and  as  we  have  it.  The 
first  essential  to  any  one  entering  upon  the  study  of 
the  Bible  either  as  friend  or  foe,  is  to  ascertain  ex- 
actly what  the  Bible  says  and  means.  We  here  take 
the  Bible  as  we  have  it.  We  are  assured  by  scholars 
that  our  English  versions  of  the  Bible  are  sufficiently 
accurate  for  all  practical  purposes.  It  is  also  safe  to 
say  that  no  material  change  of  language,  statement  or 
teaching  will  ever  take  place  in  the  Bible.  The  books 
will  always  come  as  they  do  now  and  the  contents 
remain  essentially  as  they  are.  Hence  it  is  safe  and 
proper  to  learn  the  Bible  as  it  is.  It  is  the  con- 
viction of  the  author  that  a  fair  inquiry  as  to  the 
actual  statements  and  teachings  of  the  Bible  will  go 
far  to  clear  up  many  if  not  all  of  the  difficulties  the 
student  meets. 

The  great  purpose  of  all  Bible  study  should  be 
Spiritual  effect.  Without  this  all  else  is  "sounding 
brass  and  clanging  cymbal."  It  is  the  kind  of  study 
Christ  rebuked  in  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  when  he 
said  "Ye  search  the  Scriptures  because  in  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  these  are  they  which 
3 


4  Preface 

bear  witness  of  me;  and  ye  will  not  come  to  me  that 
ye  may  have  life."  There  is  to-day  much  Bible  study 
that  is  as  truly  "pharisaical"  as  ever  practiced  in 
Jewish  circles  of  old,  while  the  food  for  the  soul  is 
neglected.  It  is  the  latter  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
army  of  God  need.  Not  one  in  a  thousand  cares  for 
these  minute  points  of  origin,  date,  etc.,  but  all  do 
want  comfort  in  sorrow,  deliverance  from  sin,  and  in 
death  hope  and  assurance.  These  are  the  blessings 
the  Bible  is  intended  to  convey  and  without  which 
Bible  study  is  disappointing. 

The  heart  is  a  truer  guide  than  the  head,  and  the 
great  mass  of  the  church  remain  convinced  that  they 
are  still  justified  in  taking  the  Bible  as  it  is.  Certain 
it  is  that  on  the  objector  rests  the  burden  of  showing 
otherwise. 

The  plan  of  these  studies  is  to  present  the  great 
lines  of  narrative  doctrine  and  spiritual  life  upon 
which  the  Bible  is  laid  out.  First  the  whole  is  given 
at  a  glance,  then  the  great  parts  of  the  structure  are 
given  each  in  a  similar  view,  then  the  books  and 
smaller  divisions.  Much  of  the  study  of  the  day  is 
"scrappy"  and  disconnected  and  no  general  or  broad 
idea  of  the  whole  divine  plan  is  obtained.  It  is  the 
plan  here  to  present  the  mountain  peaks  of  Bible 
narrative  and  to  view  the  whole  as  centered  about 
these  in  a  succession  of  bird's-eye  studies.  This  is 
the  natural  method.  We  remember  history  by  great 
men,  events  and  epochs.    While  it  may  be  the  duty  of 


Preface  5 

some  to  study  more  closely  it  is  not  in  the  power  of 
the  many  to  do  so,  nor  is  it  necessary  save  for  spe- 
cial lessons  or  purposes. 

Simplicity  is  one  great  purpose  kept  in  mind.  While 
the  average  of  intellectual  condition  of  our  day  is 
high  the  state  of  Bible  knowledge  has  not  kept  pace 
therewith.  The  tests  applied  to  the  advanced  classes 
in  some  of  our  colleges  have  shown  a  lamentable  defi- 
ciency in  the  elementary  knowledge  of  Scripture.  If 
this  state  exists  in  such  circles  it  is  more  common 
among  these  who  are  in  active  business  life.  The  aim 
here  is  to  so  present  the  Bible  that  it  will  be  easily 
understood  by  the  average  mind.  The  Diagrams 
and  Charts  are  designed  for  this  purpose.  They  have 
been  tested  in  hundreds  of  classes  and  found  effect- 
ive. Pastors  and  teachers  will 'find  in  these  studies 
what  is  needed  for  popular  Bible  classes.  The  Dia- 
grams should  be  reproduced  on  the  blackboard, 
accompaning  them  by  the  necessary  explanation. 
The  old  chronology  is  used  simply  because  it  is  access- 
ible to  all  and  the  differences  are  not  important, 
in  the  historical  books  at  least,  and  where  accuracy 
is  necessary  it  may  be  secured  later.  Dates  are  given 
also  in  round  numbers. 

These  studies  are  designed  to  accompany  the  Sun- 
day School  Lessons,  and  will  furnish  either  an  advanced 
course  or  a  parallel  course  uniting  the  lessons,  which 
are  more  or  less  disconnected,  into  one  and  a  logical 
and  systematic  course. 


6  Preface 

The  present  volume  is  a  revision  and  enlargement 
of  a  former  volume  under  another  title  the  reception 
of  which  has  encouraged  the  author  to  thus  enlarge 
it  and  present  it  under  a  more  suitable  title.  It  is 
sent  out  with  the  hope  that  it  will  aid  in  the  knowledge 
of  "the  Bible  as  it  is." 

We  are  in  the  day  of  Bible  study.  Ten  million 
copies  are  now  made  and  sold  every  year.  The  wisest 
of  the  world  confess  its  value.  Ruskin  said  the  best 
part  of  his  education  was  the  chapters  his  mother 
taught  him.  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  said  he  owed  his  edu- 
cation to  the  Bible  more  than  to  any  other  hundred 
books.  Dr.  Richard  G.  Moulton  has  said:  "We  have 
done  almost  everything  that  is  possible  with  these 
Hebrew  and  Greek  writings.  We  have  overlaid  them, 
clause  by  clause,  with  exhaustive  commentaries;  we 
have  translated  them,  revised  the  translations,  and 
quarreled  over  the  revisions;  have  discussed  authen- 
ticity and  inspiration,  and  suggested  textual  history 
with  colored  type;  we  have  mechanically  divided  the 
whole  into  chapters  and  verses,  and  sought  texts  to 
memorize  and  quote;  we  have  epitomized  into  hand- 
books and  extracted  school  lessons;  we  have  recast 
from  the  feminine  point  of  view,  and  even  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  next  century.  There  is  yet  one 
thing  left  to  do  with  the  Bible:  simply  to  read  it." 
We  add  to  this,  and  to  read  it  as  it  is.  This  is  the 
purpose  of  this  series  of  studies. 

Alexander  Patterson. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory. 

Method  of  Study,  13.  How  and  Why  We  Believe  the 
Bible,  15.  Testimony  of  Christ  to  the  Scriptures,  15. 
The  Bible  is  Authentic,  17.  The  Bible  True- 
External  Evidences,  20.  Internal  Evidences,  23. 
The  Bible  Inspired,  24.  How  the  Bible  Came, 
27.  New  Testament  Inspiration,  32.  How  to  Un- 
derstand the  Bible,  ^^.  What  to  Look  for  in  Bible 
Study,  35. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible. 

The  Whole  Bible,  37.  Lines  of  Unity  in  the  Bible,  44. 
Lines  of  Diversity,  45.  Lines  of  Development,  47. 
Full  View  of  the  Bible,  48.  A  View  of  the  Old 
Testament,  50.     Genesis,  52. 


8  Contents 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Creation. 

Outline,  57.  The  Godhead  in  Creation,  58.  Extent 
of  the  Six  Days'  Creation,  59.  State  of  the  Earth 
before  the  Six  Days'  Creation,  60.  The  Six  Days* 
Creation,  62.  Method  of  Creation,  66.  Creation 
of  Man,  67.  Agreement  with  Science,  71.  Spirit- 
ual Lessons  of  Creation,  75.     The  New  Creation,77. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Eden  and  the  Fall. 

Truth  of  the  Narrative,  78.  Eden  and  Original  Man, 
79.  The  Probation,  81.  The  Tempter,  83.  The 
Temptation,  84.  The  Sin,  86.  The  Judgment,  88. 
Consequences  of  the  Fall,  89.  Redemption,  91. 
Spiritual  Teaching,  92. 

CHAPTER   V. 

The  Deluge. 

Story  of  Adam's  Family,  94.  Table  of  the  Races  of 
Seth  and  Cain,  96.  Commingling  of  the  two  Races, 
98.  God's  Attitude  Towards  That  Age,  100.  Evi- 
dences and  Extent  of  the  Deluge,  104.  Causes  of 
the  Deluge,  104.  Chronology  of  the  Deluge,  105. 
Lessons,  105. 


Contents  9 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Origin  of  the  Nations. 

The  Sons  of  Noah,  1 1 1 .  The  Dispersion,  114.  Table 
of  the  Nations,  116. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Abraham. 

Abraham's  Place  and  Reality,  121.  Descent  and 
Table  of  Ancestry,  122.  History,  123.  The  Cov- 
enant, 125.     Place  and  Character,  129. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Jacob. 

Isaac,  134.  Jacob's  Place,  134.  History,  136. 
Character,  138.     Sons,  139. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Joseph. 

Joseph's  History,  142.  Place  in  Israel,  144.  Joseph 
Prophetically  and  Typically,  144. 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Exodus. 

Israel's  State  in  Egypt,  148.  Moses,  150.  Pharoah 
and  the  Plagues,  152.  The  Passover,  154.  The 
Exodus,  155. 


lo  Contents 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Wilderness  Journey. 

The  Books  of  the  Journey,  158.  Map  of  the  Journey, 
159.  Egypt  to  Sinai,  160.  Sinai,  160.  Sinai  to 
Canaan,  163.  The  Years  of  Wandering,  165.  The 
Fortieth  Year,  166.  Conclusion,  167.  Moses' 
Farewell,  168.  A  Review  of  the  Past,  168.  A 
Review  of  the  Law,  169.  The  Blessings  and 
Curses,  170.  Moses'  Last  Words,  171.  Moses* 
Character,   173.     Spiritual  Lessons,   174. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Law. 

The  Form  of  the  Decalogue,  180.  Law  before  Moses, 
182.  The  Scope  of  the  Law.  183.  The  Spiritual 
Law,  187.  The  Ethical  Law,  190.  The  Civil 
Law,  193.  The  Criminal  Code,  197.  The  Social 
System,  199, 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Ceremonial  Law. 

The  Tabernacle,  206.  The  Offerings,  210.  The 
Priests,  216.  The  Law  of  Holiness,  218.  The 
Feasts,  221.     Spiritual  Lessons,  224. 


Contents  1 1 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Joshua. 

Outline,  227.  The  Nation,  228.  The  Land,  229. 
Crossing  the  Jordan,  230.  War  of  Conquest,  232. 
Destruction  of  the  Canaanites,  235.  Division  of 
the  Land,  237.  Joshua's  Farewell,  239.  Spiritual 
Lessons,  239. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Judges. 

Times  of  the  Judges,  243.  Chart  of  the  Judges,  245. 
Spiritual  Lessons,  247. 

CHAPTER  XVL 

Ruth. 

Place  and  Purpose,  249.  Picture  of  Social  Life,  249. 
Naomi,  250.    Spiritual  Lessons,  250.     OutHne,  251. 


The  Bible  As  It  Is 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTORY 


We  begin  with  some  general  facts  introductory 
to  Bible  study.  What  is  proposed  here  is,  first, 
Bible  study  as  distinguished  from  mere  reading, 
and,  second,  systematic  study  as  distinguished  from 
promiscuous  study  of  separate  parts,  and,  third,  study 
with  the  purpose  of  getting  a  broad  view  of  the  Bible 
and  its  general  scope. 

It  is  not  proposed  here  that  we  stop  to  investigate 
every  interesting  question  that  may  arise,  whether  of 
fact  or  doctrine.  What  we  will  seek  is  broad  effects, 
wide  landscapes  and  perspective  views  of  long  periods, 
taking  in  only  the  mountain-p^aks  of  the  narrative, 
and  only  indicating  what  is  important  for  more 
detailed  study,  but  not  stopping  to  deal  with  these 
now. 

The  first  endeavor  is  to  master  the  narrative.  The 
Bible  is  first  a  history,  and  this  should  be  learned,  but 
in  general  at  first,  without  loading  the  mind  with  the 
13 


14  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

smaller  events.  One  should  thus  become  able  to  think 
through  the  Bible.  The  great  lessons  should  be 
attached  to  this  narrative  at  the  proper  places.  The 
book  and  chapter  divisions  may  be  used  as  helpful  to 
obtain  the  sequence  of  events  or  to  keep  them  in  mind. 
It  also  greatly  assists  to  future  ease  in  finding  places 
to  have  a  chapter  analysis  of  each  book.  But  there 
are  over  a  thousand  chapters  in  the  Bible,  and  some 
books  are  difficult  to  so  divide,  and  few  could  carry 
so  great  a  numbei  in  mind.  So  it  is  better  to  rely 
upon  the  narrative  and  by  means  of  it  keep  the  whole 
in  memory. 

The  space  a  matter  takes  in  the  Bible  is  not  always 
a  guide  to  its  relative  importance.  The  first  chapter 
of  Genesis  far  outweighs  the  ten  chapters  of  names  in 
Chronicles.  We  do  not  therefore  spend  the  same 
amount  of  study  here  upon  all  parts  proportionally. 
In  reading  for  these  studies,  the  student  should  read 
continuously  through  the  narrative  and  through  all 
parts  containing  it.  For  example,  the  history  of 
Israel's  journey  from  Egypt  to  Canaan  should  be  read, 
without  regard  to  the  legislative  parts,  through  to  the 
end,  and  the  legislation  made  an  after  study.  We 
must  not  stop  at  every  "interesting  story  at  first.  What 
is  wanted  is  a  full  grasp  of  the  whole.  Afterwards  we 
can  take  up  the  details  one  by  one. 

Space  is  not  taken  in  this  book  with  the  printed  text. 
It  is  supposed  that  the  reader  has  his  Bible  in  hand 
and  has  read  the  passage  under  discussion,  or  follows 
it  as  he  reads  here. 


Introductory  Ij; 

How  AND  Why  we  Believe  the  Bible. 
This  question  is  proper  at  all  times.  People  have  a 
right  to  ask  questions  as  to  the  Bible.  Its  claims  are 
so  great,  its  interests  presented  so  vast,  that  it  ought 
to  be  examined.  The  Bible  never  discourages  inves- 
tigation, nor  should  we.  In  beginning  a  course  of 
study  we  must  therefore  review  briefly  our  ground  of 
belief.  We  make  three  claims  for  the  Bible,  i.  It 
is  authentic.  2.  It  is  true.  3.  It  is  inspired.  These 
are  three  different  questions.  A  book  may  be  authen- 
tic but  not  true.  Most  works  of  fiction  are  so.  A 
book  may  be  true  but  not  inspired.  Most  histories 
are  so.  If  inspired  it  must  be  authentic  and  true. 
For  all  these  claims  we  present  first : 

The  Testimony  of  Christ  to  the  Scriptures. 

This  cannot  be  met  or  impeached  by  any  one.  All 
the  world  admits  that  He  was  the  wisest  and  holiest 
who  ever  lived.  This  is  the  testimony  of  infidels  as  well 
as  all  others.  We  have  abundant  historical  reason  for 
believing  that  there  is  no  essential  difference  between  the 
Old  Testament  as  we  have  it  and  as  Christ  and  His 
apostles  used  it.  Christ  and  His  apostles  constantly 
refer  to  it  and  always  with  the  highest  reverence  and 
confidence.  They  do  not  give  the  slightest  hint  of 
want  of  faith  in  it,  or  that  it  is  other  than  literally 
true  in  its  statements  of  fact  and  doctrine.  Christ 
lived  the  life  therein  commanded,  and  did  many  things 
to  fulfil  its  prophecies.  He  took  His  texts  from  it  and 
preached  it  constantly. 


i6  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

He  quotes  from  at  least  twenty  of  its  books  cover- 
ing every  part  of  the  Old  Testament.  He  affirms 
twenty  or  more  of  its  narratives.  Christ  refers  with- 
out any  intimation  of  want  of  belief  in  their  literal  truth 
to  the  following  Old  Testament  narratives:  Crea- 
tion of  man  (Matt.  19:  4).  Law  of  marriage  (Matt. 
19:5).  Story  of  Cain  and  Abel  (Matt.  23:35). 
Noah  and  the  Deluge  (Matt.  24:37).  Abraham 
(John  8  :  56).  Destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
and  Lot's  wife  (Luke  17  :  28-32).  The  Manna  (John 
6:49).  Brazen  Serpent  (John  3  :  14).  David  and 
Shew  Bread  (Matt.  12  :  3).  Elisha  and  his  miracles 
(Luke  4:  25).  Heahng  of  Naaman  (Luke  4:  27). 
Tyre  and  Sidon  (Matt.  11:  22).  Jonah  and  *'the 
Whale"  (Matt  12  :  39).  The  books  of  Moses  (John 
5  :  46).  The  Psalms  (Luke  20  :  42).  Moses  and  the 
Prophets  (Luke  24:  27).  Isaiah  (Matt.  13:  14). 
Daniel's  Prophecies  (Matt.  24:  15).  Malachi  (Matt. 
II  :  10). 

A  single  verse  mentions  the  whole  Old  Testament  as 
follows :  ' '  All  things  must  be  fulfilled  which  were  writ- 
ten in  the  Law  of  Moses  and  the  Prophets  and  the 
Psalms  concerning  me  "  (Luke  24  :  44).  Herein  is  in- 
cluded the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  three 
parts  into  which  it  was  at  that  time  divided.  The 
Law  of  Moses  included  the  first  five  books  of  our 
Bible  which  were  then  one.  The  Prophets  included 
most  of  the  prophetical  books.  The  Psalms  included 
the  poetical  as  well  as  some  of  the  other  books,  and  took 
that    name    from    the     Psalms    which    formed    the 


Introductory  17 

first  of  that  part.  In  the  further  verses  of  that  pas- 
sage He  bases  His  whole  gospel  upon  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  commands  it  to  be  preached  everywhere. 

So  that  here  is  the  highest  evidence  possible 
for  the  authenticity,  the  truth  and  the  inspiration  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Christ  and  His  apostles  lived 
1,900  years  nearer  the  time  of  the  Old  Testament 
than  we,  and  within  the  memory  of  the  facts  of  its 
composition  as  well  as  the  facts  therein  related.  They 
believed  in  its  inspiration  ;  they  give  us  their  un- 
qualified assertions  to  its  genuineness,  truth  and  in- 
spiration. We  may  therefore  rest  confidently  upon 
that  unimpeachable  testimony.  The  best,  shortest 
and  most  conclusive  reason  for  believing  that  the  Bible 
is  genuine,  true  and  inspired  is  because  Jesus  said  so. 
This  can  be  understood  by  the  child  and  will  satisfy 
the  philosopher.  It  can  be  understood  and  remem- 
bered by  any  one  and  even  in  the  hour  of  illness  or 
death  will  satisfy  and  bring  assurance  to  the  mind. 

I.  The  Bible  is  Authentic. 
We  can  trace  the  Bible  back  step  by  step  from  the 
present  day  to  the  time  of  Christ  and  beyond.  The 
English  version  commonly  used  to-day  was  printed 
first  in  1 6 1 1 .  Before  that  were  other  English  versions, 
the  most  common  ones  being  Tyndall's  and  Wyckliff 's. 
These  were  translated  principally  from  the  Latin  Bible 
called  the  Vulgate,  which  was  translated  from  the 
Greek  copies  about  500  a.  d.  Latin  was  then  a  spoken 
language.      The  Greek  copies  we  still  have  number 


1 8  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

many  hundreds  and  some  of  them  are  as  old  as  the 
third  and  fourth  centuries.  It  is  from  these  that  our 
Revised  Version  is  taken,  based  upon  the  English  or 
Authorized  Version  of  1611.  The  following  diagram 
shows  the  course  and  connection  of  title  to  our  Bible 
as  we  have  it. 


History  of  the  Bible. 


A.D. 


2.3.4.5.6.  7.  8.9.I0.II.I2.I3.I4  l5.l6.l7.l8.r9.2Q. 

This  diagram  shows  the  history  of  the  Bible  from 
our  time  back  to  that  of  Christ.  Our  Authorized 
Version  runs  back  300  years.  The  older  English 
versions,  as  Tyndall's  and  Wyckliff's,  500  years. 
The  Latin  version,  called  the  Vulgate,  1,400  years. 
The  Greek  copies,  some  of  them  1,600  years,  that  is 
to  within  200  years  of  the  time  the  latest  books  of  the 
New  Testament  were  written.  Fragments  have  later 
been  discovered  as  old  as  1,700  years  and  it  is  very 
probable  that  still  older  ones  will  some  day  be  dis- 
covered ;  perhaps  even  some  of  the  originals. 

There  is  a  gap,  as  shown  by  the  diagram,  between 
the  oldest  Greek  manuscripts  and  the  days  of  the  last 
of  the  apostles.  This  is  bridged  in  several  ways. 
Many  writers  of  the  first  three  centuries  quoted  from 
the  New  Testament,  and  together  they  have  quoted  all 
but  twelve  verses.     Thus  nearly  the  whole  could  be  re- 


Introductory  19 

placed  from  these  writers.  Many  translations  were 
made  into  other  languages,  as  Syriac  and  Ethiopian. 
These  all  corroborate  our  copies,  so  we  know  that  we 
have  not  only  authentic  books,  but  correct  copies  of  them. 

But  as  we  do  not  have  the  original  manuscripts 
actually  written  by  the  apostles  and  others,  but  only 
copies,  how  do  we  know  they  are  correct?  Two 
scholars,  Dr.  Wescott  and  Dr.  Hort,  who  have  ex- 
amined and  compared  these  many  Greek  and  other 
copies,  tell  us  that,  leaving  out  all  minor  differences 
which  do  not  affect  the  sense  or  meaning,  these  many 
manuscripts  gathered  from  all  over  the  world,  written 
on  cloth,  skins,  parchment,  papyrus  and  other  material, 
do  not  differ  from  each  other  more  than  one  word  in 
a  thousand ;  that  is  only  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent. 
As  they  do  not  differ  from  each  other  more  than  this, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  they  do  not  differ  from  the  original 
manuscripts  any  more  than  this.  So  that  we  have 
within  a  tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  accuracy  in  the 
copies  we  have.  This  is  almost  a  miraculous  preser- 
vation in  view  of  the  many  copyings,  translations  and 
vicissitudes  through  which  they  have  passed. 

We  have  traced  the  New  Testament  back  to  the 
time  of  the  apostles,  and  we  find,  as  all  admit,  that 
Christ  had  the  Old  Testament  as  we  have  it,  so  we 
need  go  no  farther.  If  Christ  was  satisfied  that  it  was 
authentic,  we  may  well  be.  Besides  we  have  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Jews,  who  were  so  careful  of  their  scrip- 
tures, and  they  tell  us  it  is  authentic. 

There  are  many  other  witnesses   as  the  apocryphal 


20  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

books  which  mention  the  Bible,  and  the  Samaritan  Penta- 
teuch held  by  that  people  from  the  earliest  days ;  also 
such  writers  as  Josephus,  who  mention  the  parts  of  the 
Old  Testament  as  they  then  had  them.  In  fact  there 
is  no  ancient  book  which  has  one- tenth  the  evidence 
of  this  historical  kind  that  the  Bible  has.  The 
ancient  classics  do  not  have  a  fraction  of  the  manu- 
scripts that  the  Bible  has,  nor  the  external  evidence 
it  has.  These  are  received  as  genuine.  Why  not  the 
Bible  upon  far  greater  evidence  of  the  same  kind  ? 

2.  The  Bible  is  True. 
Besides  the  testimony  of  Christ,  we  have  many 
proofs  that  the  Bible  is  true.  It  has  been  submitted 
to  the  most  searching  tests.  No  book  or  matter  of  any 
kind  has  been  so  searched  and  tested  as  the  Bible.  Its 
proofs  are  generally  classed  as  external  and  internal. 
We  have  much  external  testimony  to  its  truth. 

1.  There  is  a  long  line  of  historians.  Christian, 
infidel  and  heathen,  running  from  our  day  back  to 
before  the  time  of  Christ.  These  affirm  the  facts 
wherever  they  touch  upon  them. 

2.  The  Jews  tell  us  that  the  Old  Testament  is  true. 
It  is  their  history.  It  is  their  legislation.  One  might 
as  well  deny  the  facts  of  American  history  to  us  as  to 
deny  the  facts  of  Jewish  history  to  them.  Their  very 
existence  as  the  Bible  describes  them  is  evidence  for 
the  truth.  The  Jew  is  a  witness  to  the  truth  of  the 
Old  Testament  wherever  he  appears. 

3.  The  land  of  Palestine  is  a  witness  for  the  Bible. 


Introductory  2 1 

It  fits  the  facts  of  the  Bible  as  a  seal  fits  its  impress. 
The  mountains,  valleys,  cities,  rivers  and  even  wells 
are  there  as  the  Bible  describes.  The  best  guide  book 
of  the  Holy  Land  is  the  Bible. 

4.  The  Christian  Church  is  a  witness  for  the 
Bible.  It  has  existed  as  all  history  admits  from  the 
earliest  days,  and  from  the  beginning  it  has  believed 
the  Bible.  Its  sacraments,  its  holy  days,  its  services, 
its  organizations,  are  all  as  the  Bible  declares.  There 
is  a  continuous  line  of  Christian  witnesses  from  the 
first  century  to  our  times. 

5.  The  ruins  of  all  ancient  nations  testify  to  the 
Bible.  The  science  of  archaeology,  or  ancient  things, 
is  one  of  the  latest  as  well  as  the  best  witnesses  to  the 
Bible's  truth.  We  can  trace  the  course  of  the  Bible 
story  almost  in  every  event  back  to  the  earliest  times. 
On  the  walls  of  the  Catacombs  of  Rome,  made  in  the 
early  centuries,  are  found  portrayed  nearly  all  the 
Bible  stories.  The  Arch  of  Titus  shows  the  picture  of 
the  Golden  Candlestick  the  Bible  describes  as  in  the 
Temple.  On  the  ruins  of  Assyria  and  Babylon  are 
the  accounts  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  with  the 
names  of  its  kings  and  details  of  the  event.  Under 
the  city  of  Jerusalem  has  been  discovered  the  conduit 
Hezekiah  built  to  bring  water  into  Jerusalem.  The 
peoples  of  Canaan,  as  the  Hittites,  are  shown  by  ruins 
and  inscriptions  as  described  in  the  Bible  account  of 
the  entrance  of  Israel  into  the  land.  The  life  in  Egypt 
is  accurate  to  the  smallest  detail  as  corroborated  by  the 
monuments  and  other  records  of  Egypt.     The  names 


22  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

connected  with  the  history  of  Abraham  are  found  on 
the  monuments  of  Assyria.  The  Tower  of  Babel  has 
been  found  as  given  in  the  Bible.  The  ruins  of  the 
ancient  world  as  destroyed  in  the  deluge  are  being 
found,  and  the  races  then  existing  correspond  with 
those  described  in  Genesis.  So  as  far  back  as  we  find 
remains  we  are  given  proof  that  the  Bible  story  is  true.^ 
6.  Science  is  another  witness  to  the  Bible.  It  affirms 
many  facts  written  in  the  Bible  ages  ago.  Almost 
every  science  is  touched  upon  and  wherever  the  Bible 
touches  science  it  does  so  with  precision.  Professor 
Dana  tells  us  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  agrees  with 
the  record  of  geology.  Job  gives  this  description  of 
the  earth:  '*  He  stretcheth  out  the  north  over 
empty  space  and  hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing" 
(Job  26  :  7).  Here  is  a  perfect  description  of  the 
suspension  of  the  earth  in  space  and  the  inclination  of 
its  axis  towards  the  north,  and  this  written  thou- 
sands of  years  before  the  discovery  of  these  facts  by 
modern  science.  So,  in  another  place,  is  an  equally 
pertinent  reference  to  the  facts  of  meteorology. 
"The  wind  goeth  towards  the  south  and  turneth 
about  unto  the  north  ;  it  turneth  about  continually  in 
its  course  and  the  wind  returneth  again  unto  its  cir- 
cuits. All  the  rivers  run  into  the  sea,  yet  the  sea  is 
not  full :  unto  the  place  whither  the  rivers  go  thither 
they  go  again  "  (Eccl.  i  :  6,  7).     Here  is  a  statement 

1  See  Authenticity  of  the  Hexateuch,  by  President  S.  P.  C. 
Bartlett. 


Introductory  23 

of  one  of  the  most  recent  facts  of  science,  the  rotary 
motions  of  storms ;  also  a  reference  to  the  evaporation 
of  the  water  of  the  seas  and  the  circulation  of  vapors 
in  the  atmosphere. 

Thus  exact  also  are  the  astronomical  references  and 
the  anatomical  and  all  other  points  which  the  Bible 
touches,  showing  that  the  writers  were  guided  in  their 
work.  Where  narratives  or  statements  occur  which 
seem  to  be  in  conflict  with  fact,  it  is  because  we  do 
not  understand  either  the  reference  or  the  fact.  Many 
difficulties  have  been  cleared  up  by  increasing  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  meaning  and  the  true  facts  of  nature 
or  history. 

Among  the  internal  evidences  to  the  truth  of  the 
Bible  we  mention  a  few. 

1.  It  claims  to  be  true.  There  is  no  admission  by 
any  writer  that  he  is  recording  anything  but  facts  and 
truth.  There  is  allegory,  symbol  and  parable,  but  no 
fiction  in  the  Bible.  Such  is  its  own  claim,  and  every 
book  and  author  must  be  taken  at  its  own  claim 
unless  controverted.  Succeeding  writers  in  the  Bible 
testify  to  those  who  wrote  before. 

2.  The  Bible  looks  like  a  true  book.  It  gives 
facts  and  names  and  dates  and  places  all  very  unlike 
the  works  of  fiction  or  fable.  In  Luke  3:1,  2,  there 
are  seventeen  distinct  historical  geographical  references 
which,  taken  separately  and  together,  form  a  network 
of  testing  in  which  a  fictitious  narrative  could  not 
escape  detection.  Many  such  are  in  the  Bible  and 
through  all  it  has  passed  triumphantly,  unimpeached. 


24  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

3.  The  agreement  of  the  various  writers  with  each 
other  in  statement  of  fact  is  another  evidence  of  truth. 
There  is  not  that  verbal  agreement  which  evidences 
collusion,  but  that  difference  of  statement  with  yet 
substantial  agreement  which  is  the  mark  of  unbiased 
narrative. 

4.  Its  plain  statement  of  facts  derogatory  to  its 
own  heroes  and  people  evidences  truth  in  the  nar- 
ration. Works  of  fiction  glorify  their  heroes  and 
conceal  their  faults.  The  Bible  takes  no  pains  to  do 
so.  It  exposes  Abraham's  lie  and  Jacob's  deception 
and  David's  unchastity  and  murder  and  Solomon's 
fall  and  Israel's  apostasy,  with  unconcealed  frankness. 

3.     The  Bible  is  Inspired. 

This  is  the  great  matter.  If  inspired  it  must  be 
authentic  and  true.  It  is  this  quality  which  lifts  it  above 
all  other  books.  It  is  in  this  respect  that  it  stands 
alone.  No  other  book  can  claim  to  be  inspired.  We 
sometimes  use  the  word  *'  inspired  "  in  a  weak  sense, 
as  when  we  say  a  picture  or  a  painting  or  a  song  is  in- 
spired. We  mean  specially  conceived  and  executed. 
This  is  not  what  we  mean  when  we  say  the  Bible  is 
inspired.  We  apply  to  it  two  words,  Inspiration  and 
Revelation.  The  Bible  is  a  Revelation  given  by  In- 
spiration. We  will  see  later  what  is  meant  by  these 
terms  and  how  it  was  given. 

I.  We  here  again  rely  on  the  testimony  of  Christ 
as  to  its  inspiration.  He  fully  believed  it  was 
from  God.     He  was  silent  as  to  any  want  of  faith 


Introductory  25 

in  its  inerrancy  or  inspiration.  His  silence  is 
as  eloquent  as  His  words.  He  based  His  whole 
gospel  upon  it,  and  commanded  His  apostles  to  do 
so,  and  they  did.  "  Built  upon  the  foundation  of  the 
apostles  and  prophets. ' '  If  the  foundation  is  defective, 
what  of  the  superstructure  ?  They  stand  or  fall  to- 
gether. 

2.  The  Bible  claims  to  be  inspired.  In  the  Old 
Testament  the  phrase,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord," 
occurs  2,600  times.  The  parts  preceded  by  this  word 
certainly  claim  inspiration.  The  apostles  claim  to 
have  written  by  inspiration  and  place  themselves  on  a 
level  with  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament. 

3.  Many  scripture  writers  affirm  the  inspiration  of 
those  who  went  before  or  were  their  contemporaries. 
So  the  prophets  affirm  that  Moses  spake  from  God. 
So  Peter  affirms  Paul's  inspiration. 

4.  The  Bible  bears  the  marks  of  an  inspired  book. 
Its  nobility  of  language  and  thought  agree  with  this 
claim.  Its  conception  of  God  and  man  and  the  uni- 
verse is  high  and  noble.  It  gives  a  conception  of 
God  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  world  before  or 
since.  This  is  also  true  of  the  hereafter.  Its  pictures 
of  heaven  are  as  beautiful  as  its  pictures  of  hell  are  awful. 

5.  It  has  foretold  events  and  these  events  have 
come  to  pass.  The  fulfilled  prophecies  of  the  Bible 
are  to  our  day  what  miracles  were  to  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  In  the  visions  of  Daniel  we  have  an  out- 
line of  the  world's  history  as  it  has  actually  been  ful- 
filled.    The  fate   of  empires  has  come  as  foretold. 


26  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Nineveh,  Tyre,  Egypt,  Babylon,  Jerusalem,  and  the 
Jews  are  to-day  just  what  the  Bible  foretold  in  writing 
centuries  ago. 

6.  Its  agreement  with  the  facts  of  science  already 
noted  is  evidence  of  its  inspiration.  Professor  Dana, 
the  great  geologist,  writes  of  the  first  chapter  of  Gen- 
esis :  "It  displays  purpose  in  the  author  of  the  docu- 
ment and  knowledge  beyond  that  of  ancient  or  any 
time  and  philosophy  more  than  human.  The  sacred 
volume  manifests  its  divine  origin  in  its  accordance 
with  the  latest  readings  of  nature."  No  other  hand 
than  God's  could  have  written  the  account  of  creation, 
for  man  did  not  then  exist. 

7.  The  effects  of  the  Bible  substantiate  its  claims 
to  inspiration.  Blessing  has  followed  its  path.  Free- 
dom, education,  morality,  plenty  and  safety  are  the 
evidences  of  the  Bible's  origin  wherever  it  goes. 

8.  The  adaptability  of  the  Bible  and  its  religion  to 
all  mankind  is  another  proof.  It  is  understood  as  well 
by  the  Esquimaux  as  by  the  Syrian ;  in  our  day,  as  in 
the  time  of  its  giving.  It  is  a  world  book  for  all  time 
and  ages  and  peoples.  This  is  not  true  of  any  other 
book  whatever. 

9.  It  has  been  accepted  and  trusted  by  the  wisest 
and  best  in  every  age  and  land.  We  give  some  testi- 
monies which  might  be  multiplied  by  the  hundred.^ 

* 
1  Many  such    testimonies   may  be    found    in   a   little    book, 
«'  Testimonies  of  Great   Men  to  the  Bible  and  Christianity," 
by  The  Religious  Tract  Society,  London. 


Introductory  27 

Goethe  wrote, — Almost  to  it  alone  do  I  owe  my 
moral  culture. 

Locke, — It  has  God  for  its  author,  salvation  for  its 
end,  and  truth  without  an  admixture  of  error  for  its 
matter. 

Ruskin, — I  count  it  very  confidently  the  most  pre- 
cious and  on  the  whole  the  essential  part  of  all  my 
education. 

Napoleon, — Everything  in  it  is  grand  and  worthy 
of  God. 

Wm.  E.  Gladstone, — The  scriptures  are  a  house 
builded  on  a  rock.  The  weapon  of  offense  which 
shall  impair  their  efficiency  in  the  redemption  of  man- 
kind has  not  yet  been  forged. 

Daniel  Webster, — I  have  read  it  through  many 
times.  I  now  make  a  point  of  going  through  it  once 
a  year.     It  is  the  book  of  all  others  for  the  lawyer. 

Abraham  Lincoln, — Take  all  of  this  book  on  reason 
that  you  can  and  the  rest  on  faith  and  you  will  live 
and  die  a  happy  man. 

How  THE  Bible  Came. 
The  answer  to  this  is  not  only  interesting,  but  im- 
portant. It  will  define  or  help  us  to  understand  what 
Inspiration  is.  To  know  what  Inspiration  means  we 
may  examine  just  how  the  Bible  came.  We  find  it 
came  in  several  ways.  It  gives  its  own  account  of 
its  origin.  *'  God  having  of  old  time  spoken  unto  the 
fathers  in  the  prophets  by  divers  portions  and  in  divers 
manners,  hath  at  the  end  of  these  days  spoken  unto  us  in 


28  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

His  Son"  (Heb.  i  :  i,  2).  Here  the  Old  Testament 
is  described  as  given  "  in  divers  portions  and  in  divers 
manners."  A  diagram  will  help  us  to  understand 
this. 

1500  B.C.,  A,D.  2000 

y       \        i       I       li.     I       I       ■ — J 

lO.T.IOQO  YRSJ  y     N.T.50YRS. 

We  have  here  a  line  running  back  to  1500  years 
B.  c.  On  this  the  centuries  are  marked.  The  time 
of  Christ  is  represented  by  a  cross.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment is  represented  by  the  space  marked  off  from  1500 
to  500  B.  c.  It  was  about  in  this  time  that  the  Old 
Testament  was  written.  (We  use  round  numbers  here 
and  elsewhere  for  the  sake  of  ease  in  remembering.) 
It  was  written  during  this  thousand  years  and  by  about 
thirty  writers.  Each  wrote  his  part  or  gave  it  and  it 
was  written  afterwards  by  others.  These  writings  ac- 
cumulated and  were  kept  separate  at  first  in  rolls.  At 
last  they  were  compiled  in  somewhat  the  shape  as  we 
have  them.  The  New  Testament  came  differently. 
It  was  written  all  at  once,  that  is,  in  the  lifetime  of 
the  apostles,  say  within  fifty  years,  and  by  about  ten 
writers. 

In  all,  the  whole  came  during  about  sixteen  hun- 
dred years,  and  was  written  by  about  forty  writers. 

We  have  now  to  enquire  how  God  gave  the  con- 
tents of  the  Bible  to  these  writers.  We  take  the 
Bible's  own  account  of  itself.  We  find  that  there  were 
many  methods   used   by  God   to  communicate  with 


Introductory 


29 


man.  We  will  enumerate  them.  The  diagram  fol- 
lowing will  show  the  relation  of  these  to  each  other 
and  the  whole. 


HOW  THE   BIBLE   REVELATION   WAS   GIVEN   BY  INSPIRATION. 


30  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

1.  God  spake  to  some  by  an  audible  voice.  So  it 
is  recorded  He  spake  to  Moses.  ''The  Lord  spake 
unto  Moses  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  unto  his 
friend"  (Ex.  33:  11).  So  it  is  recorded  that  a 
large  part  of  the  Pentateuch  was  given.  So  also  God 
spake  to  Christ.  A  voice  came  out  of  heaven, 
"  Thou  art  My  beloved  Son ;  in  Thee  I  am  well 
pleased"  (Luke  3:  22). 

2.  God  sent  messages  by  angels  to  some,  and 
these  were  recorded.  So  angels  appeared  to  Abra- 
ham, to  Mary  and  Joseph,  and  many  others. 

3.  Visions  were  given  to  others  and  were  recorded 
by  them.  So  Ezekiel  saw  many  visions  and  Daniel 
others,  and  last,  John  saw  the  whole  of  the  Revelation. 

4.  The  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  God's 
usual  way  of  communicating  truth  to  man.  In  the 
Old  Testament  this  was  by  special  messages  in  certain 
words.  These  were  called  a  "burden."  Sometimes 
the  prophet  did  not  understand  them  himself.  In  the 
New  Testament  times  the  message  was  by  a  general 
inward  illumination,  which  enabled  the  writers  to  un- 
derstand all  truth  necessary  to  be  given,  so  that  what 
they  wrote  was  inspired. 

5.  Others  wrote  as  witnesses,  giving  truthful  ac- 
counts of  what  they  saw  and  heard.  They  were  guided 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  record  what  they  saw  and  heard. 
John  says  he  was  such  a  witness  (i  John  i :  i). 

6.  Others  did  not  themselves  see  or  hear,  but 
recorded  what  others  were  witnesses  to.  So  Luke 
compiled  the  gospel  he  wrote.     He  says  he  "  traced 


Introductory  31 

the  course  of  all  things  accurately  from  the  first" 
(Luke  1 :  3). 

7.  Many  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  were 
compiled  from  other  books,  which  often  are  named  as 
the  sources  from  which  they  were  taken.  These  were 
often  the  national  records  kept  by  the  scribes  ajid 
recorders  mentioned  as  officers  of  Israel.  Many  of 
these  ancient  books  are  mentioned  but  are  now  lost. 
Twenty  such  older  books  are  mentioned  in  scripture. 
Those  who  compiled  often  transcribed  literally  and 
often  condensed  and  referred  to  them  for  further  in- 
formation. The  work  of  these,  affirmed,  as  we  have 
seen,  by  after  writers  and  by  Christ,  is  as  worthy  of 
the  word  Inspiration  as  any  other  part. 

The  final  collecting  of  the  books  of  the  Bible,  as  we 
have  them  now,  was  done  by  others,  and  to  this  also 
we  are  indebted  for  the  Bible  as  we  have  it.  While 
we  do  not  claim  the  work  of  canonization  as  inspira- 
tion, we  can  certainly  see,  in  the  orderly  form  in  which 
it  exists  as  seen  by  the  bird's-eye  view  hereafter  given, 
that  it  had  providential  superintendence. 

It  was  to  the  Bible  thus  given  and  brought  together 
that  Christ  certified.  So  that  we  may  have  as  much 
reason  to  accept  the  one  method  of  giving  as  the  other. 
All  is  a  Revelation  given  by  Inspiration. 

We  have  not  included  Christ  in  this  list  of  methods 
of  inspiration.  Christ  was  more  than  a  method  of  in- 
spiration. He  was  the  giver  as  well  as  the  subject  of 
all  inspiration,  in  all  and  through  all  methods.  He 
Himself  was  God's  Revelation. 


32  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

New  Testament  Inspiration. 
As  the  New  Testament  was  not  written  until  after 
Christ  died  and  rose,  the  attestations  of  its  inspiration 
need  to  be  specially  mentioned. 

1.  The  disciples,  and  particularly  the  apostles, 
were  a  specially  selected  group  of  witnesses  and  chan- 
nels for  the  giving  of  facts  and  truths  of  the  gospel 
(Acts  I  :  8 ;  Luke  24  :  48). 

2.  They  were  given  many  and  palpable  evidences 
of  the  facts  and  truths  they  were  to  proclaim  (John 
20:  30,  31;   21:  25;    I  John   I,   2;    Luke   24:35, 

41-43)- 

3.  They  were  promised  by  Christ  the  aid  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  remember  what  they  heard  and  saw 
(John  14:  26). 

4.  They  were  promised  also  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  bringing  new  truth  to  their  minds  (John 
16:  13;. 

5.  The  apostles  affirm  that  they  were  such  wit 
nesses   and  were  so  given  revelations  of  the  gospel 
(Acts     2:32;      4:33;    13  ••31;     I   Cor.  15:1-6 

I  John  1:1,2;  Acts  10  :  39-41  ;  2  Peter  1:16;  Gal 
i:  II,  12). 

6.  The  Holy  Spirit  attested  their  words  and  acts 
(Acts  2:  43;    5:12;    10:41-46;    11:15;    14:3 
15  :  8  ;  Rom.  15  :  19;   2  Cor.   12  :    12;   Heb.  2  :  4) 

7.  They  give  mutual  confirmation  of  each  other  in 
authority,  fact  and  doctrine  (2  Peter  3:  15,  16  _ 
I  Cor.    2  :  10-13 ;  Eph.  3:5;  Jude  17 ;  Gal.  2 :  8) 

8.  We  have  the  appeal  of  the  fathers  of  the  early 


Introductory  33 

church  to  these  writings.     Tertullian  and  others  refer 
to  them  and  affirm  them. 

9.  We  have  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
the  truths  in  every  place  preached. 

10.  We  have  the  testimony  of  our  own  experience 
to  the  inspiration  of  the  New  Testament  in  conscious- 
ness of  sins  forgiven,  peace  with  God,  power  and  prayer 
and  hope  of  heaven.  This  is  true  in  all  ages,  of  all 
classes,  at  all  times.  Such  a  mass  of  long-continued 
testimony  does  not  accompany  any  other  matter  of 
human  knowledge  or  experience. 

How  TO  Understand  the  Bible. 

1.  The  Bible  is  a  spiritual  book.  While  much  in 
it  may  be  understood  by  any  one,  as  its  literary  form, 
historical  narratives  and  ethical  teachings,  there  is  much 
that  can  be  only  spiritually  discerned.  Therefore  it  re- 
quires a  spiritual  state  to  enter  into  its  meaning  in 
spiritual  things  (i  Cor.  2  :  14,  15). 

2.  It  calls  for  a  willingness  to  obey  its  teachings. 
One  who  goes  to  the  Bible  to  find  objections  to  it  or 
to  criticise  it  need  not  expect  to  understand  it. 

3.  Further  the  Bible  calls  for  close  study.  Its 
gospel  messages  to  repent  and  believe  are  so  plain  that 
a  child  may  see  their  meaning,  but  there  are  parts 
which  need  to  be  searched  with  all  the  diligence  pos- 
sible. 

4.  Again  we  must  remember  that  it  is  a  supernatural 
book.  We  are  not  to  expect  it  to  agree  with  all  in 
our  limited  observation  or  experience.     It  professes  to 


34  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

relate  matters  of  supernatural  power  far  beyond  human 
understanding. 

5.  The  Bible  is  self-explanatory.  One  place  ex- 
plains another.  So  that,  in  nearly  every  case,  if  we 
search  we  will  find  the  solution  of  every  difficult  matter. 

6.  The  whole  teaching  of  the  Bible  must  be  had  on 
any  point  or  doctrine.  It  is  unsafe  to  rest  any  teach- 
ing upon  single  texts  or  a  single  part,  especially  in  the 
earlier  books,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  do  so.  Doctrine 
is  developed  in  scripture  and  the  full  meaning  is  found 
in  the  later  books.  The  Old  Testament  must  be  read 
in  the  light  of  the  New,  and  the  New  in  the  light  of 
the  Old. 

7.  The  Bible  use  of  words  is  to  be  observed. 
While  many  are  used  in  the  ordinary  conversational 
sense  others  have  a  special  Bible  meaning.  This  must 
be  ascertained.  Every  word  has  meaning.  They  are 
like  purified  gold.  The  entire  meaning  of  any  part 
must  be  taken  as  the  writer  intended. 

8.  Obscure  parts  must  be  read  in  the  light  of  those 
clearly  understood. 

9.  The  historical  and  local  meaning  should  always 
be  ascertained  before  applying  the  teachings  to  ourselves 
or  to  others.  Interpretation  is  one  thing  and  applica- 
tion is  another.  The  interpretation  is  to  be  first  sought 
and  then  the  application  made  as  warranted. 

10.  The  plain,  literal  meaning  is  to  be  taken  unless 
some  other  is  clearly  designated.  The  Bible  is  not  a 
book  of  puzzles,  nor,  like  the  oracle,  capable  of  many 
meanings  diverse  from  one  another. 


Introductory  35 

What  to  Look  for  in  Bible  Study. 

The  Bible  lies  in  layers  as  the  soil  of  the  earth. 
Some  meaning  is  apparent  to  the  actual  observer; 
much  lies  deeper.  These  may  be  represented  as  fol- 
lows : 


Literary  Study. 
Historical  Study. 
Ethical  Study. 
Doctrinal  Study, 
Spiritual  Study. 
Practical  Study. 
Prophetical  Study. 


1.  The  Bible  may  be  studied  as  literature.  It  was 
the  literature  of  a  great  people.  It  has  prose  and 
poetry,  drama  and  proverb.  The  literary  form  of  any 
part  often  has  an  important  bearing  on  its  meaning. 
Such  a  book  as  the  Song  of  Solomon  must  be  arranged 
in  its  parts  before  it  can  be  understood.  The  analysis 
of  a  book  or  part  is  also  included  in  its  literary  study. 

2.  The  historical  study  of  the  Bible  must  have 
close  attention.  It  is  a  great  history,  which  has  an 
important  bearing  on  its  doctrinal  teachings.  This 
includes  all  facts  of  every  kind. 

3.  The  ethical  teaching  of  the  Bible  comes  next 
into  view, — its  great  teachings  as  to  right  and  wrong. 
It  is  the  standard  book  of  life  and  conduct  for  man- 
kind. 

4.  Still  deeper  lie  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  It 
tells  what  to  believe  about  man,  God,  sin,  hereafter, 


26  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

salvation.     The  doctrines  are  to  the  rehgious  system 
what  bones  are  to  the  body. 

5.  The  spiritual  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  the  great 
matter.  It  is  the  food  of  the  spiritual  nature.  This 
forms  its  value  for  devotional  meetings  and  private 
needs.  Under  this  head  come  the  study  of  the  symbols 
of  the  Bible  and  its  typical  teachings.  Spiritual  truth  is 
the  very  life  of  the  soul. 

6.  The  study  of  the  Bible  for  practical  uses  needs 
to  be  classed  here.  It  is  a  book  of  lessons  in  Christian 
service ;  how  to  save  and  to  lead  men  to  Christ,  how 
to  answer  the  inquirers'  difficulties,  how  to  meet  various 
classes.     It  is  the  sword  of  the  spirit. 

7.  The  prophetic  study  of  the  Bible  should  have  a 
large  place.  One-seventh  of  the  Bible  is  predictive 
prophecy.  It  tells  the  story  of  the  future.  It  is  the 
part  most  neglected  to-day. 

Some  penetrate  no  deeper  than  to  see  the  literary  value 
of  the  Bible.  Others  will  descend  to  the  historical  and 
the  ethical.  Theology  or  study  of  doctrine  is  often 
avoided.  We  must  learn,  if  we  want  to  get  what  God 
would  teach  us  in  Bible  study,  not  to  be  afraid  to  sound 
its  depths.  Scripture  itself  counsels  to  go  on  to  per- 
fection in  the  knowledge  of  truth. 


CHAPTER  II 

BIRD'S-EYE  VIEWS  OF  THE  BIBLE 

I.     The  Whole  Bible. 

In  opening  any  book  we  should  first  read  the  title 
and  then  look  at  the  table  of  contents  to  see  the  theme 
and  plan  and  scope  of  the  book.  The  Bible  has  no 
table  of  contents,  but  there  is  a  list  of  its  books  printed 
with  most  editions,  and  an  examination  of  this  will 
give  some  idea  of  the  plan  and  scope  of  the  Bible. 
We  find  there  are  sixty-six  books  in  all  and  these  are 
divided  into  two  parts,  the  Old  Testament  having 
thirty-nine  and  the  New  Testament  twenty-seven. 
These  numbers  may  be  remembered  by  the  number  of 
letters  in  the  names  of  the  parts.  Old  (3)  Testament 
(9)-39.     New  (3)  Testament  (9)  3  x  9-27. 

The  names  "Old  Testament"  and  "New  Testa- 
ment," are  taken  from  the  Bible  itself.  They  are 
found  in  these  words,  "Able  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament";  "in  the  reading  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment "  (2  Cor.  3  :  6,  14).  Here  the  terms  are  applied 
to  the  New  and  Old  Covenants,  or,  as  we  would  say, 
to  the  law  and  the  gospel,  the  Old  Covenant  being 
that  which  Moses  made  with  Israel,  the  New  Covenant 
being  that  brought  by  Christ,  the  words  Covenant  and 
Testament  being  the  same. 
37 


38  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Here,  then,  are  the  great  meanings  and  differences  of 
these  parts.  The  great  teacher  of  the  Old  Covenant 
was  Moses.  The  great  teacher  of  the  New  was  Christ. 
The  great  feature  of  the  Old  is  that  covenant  made 
by  Moses.  The  great  feature  of  the  New  is  that  gospel 
of  grace  brought  us  by  Christ. 

We  live  under  the  New  Covenant,  but  the  Old  is  as 
precious  to  us  as  to  them  who  lived  under  it,  for  it 
contains  the  New  in  the  seed  or  bud.  The  New 
Testament  with  its  New  Covenant  or  gospel  is  the  un- 
folding or  development  of  the  Old  Testament  or 
Covenant.  Therefore  we  need  to  study  both.  The 
seed  and  the  full-grown  plant  are  both  necessary  to  a 
right  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  But,  as  the  Old  is  the 
germ  of  the  New,  and  the  central  point  of  the  New 
Testament  is  the  Cross  of  Christ,  that  also  is  the 
central  point  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  must  then 
be  read  in  the  light  of  the  Cross. 

It  will  greatly  help  in  becoming  interested  in  the 
study  of  the  Bible  and  in  understanding  it  if  we  can 
see  its  general  scope  and  form ;  if,  before  one  visited 
the  World's  Fair,  he  took  a  survey  of  the  grounds 
from  some  elevated  point,  noted  the  beauty  of  the 
whole,  the  form  of  the  grounds,  the  places  and  charac- 
ter of  the  buildings,  the  entrances  and  exits,  the  roads 
and  points  of  interest,  he  would  save  himself  much 
time  and  obtain  a  far  better  idea  of  the  whole  than  by 
first  beginning  with  some  of  the  details.  He  would 
know  where  to  go  for  what  he  wanted  most  and  first. 
So,  if  we  can  obtain  a  survey  of  the  whole  Bible,  we 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible       39 

will  greatly  facilitate  our  progress  and  interest  in  its 
study. 

Taking  the  books  of  the  Bible,  we  will  examine  the 
list  with  reference  to  some  arrangement  or  grouping 
of  them.  The  first  five  we  have  no  trouble  in  ar- 
ranging. They  are  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus, 
Numbers  and  Deuteronomy.  They  are  the  books  of 
Moses.  They  were  once  one  book  and  are  still 
called  "Moses"  as  we  say  *' Shakespeare."  Some- 
times they  are  called  ''The  Law"  or  "The  Law  of 
Moses."  The  great  feature  is  law.  There  is  some 
history,  but  law  is  the  principal  contents  of  that  part 
of  the  Bible.  We  call  it  the  Pentateuch,  that  is  "  the 
five  tools  "  or  rolls.     This,  then,  is  the  first  group. 

The  second  is  a  group  of  books  which  are  com- 
posed nearly  all  of  history.  They  are  twelve. 
Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth,  i  and  2  Samuel,  i  and  2 
Kings,  I  and  2  Chronicles,  Ezra,  Nehemiah  and 
Esther.  It  will  assist  in  learning  these  to  make  three 
groups  of  them,  and  remember  that  those  in  the  middle 
group  are  double  books  and  the  first  and  last  groups 
end  with  a  female  name.     Thus  : 

Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth. 

Samuel,  Kings,  Chronicles. 

Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Esther. 

The  next  group  embraces  the  poetical  books.  This, 
in  turn,  is  different  from  all  the  foregoing  and  stands  out 
distinctly  by  itself.  These  books  are  written  in  poetical 
form  ;  that  does  not  mean  rhyme  of  sound  as  we  have 
in  poetry,  but  what  we  might  call  rhyme  of  meaning. 


40  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

We  will  study  that  later.  They  are  five.  Job, 
Psalms,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  Song  of  Solomon. 
Their  great  feature  is  wisdom  of  many  kinds.  They 
are  the  compressed  essence  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Old 
Testament.  This  includes  not  only  what  we  call 
rehgion,  but  also  philosophy  and  practical  knowledge 
of  life  as  well  as  what  we  call  theology  as  then  re- 
vealed. 

The  last  group  is  called  the  Prophets.  These  books 
are  so  called  from  the  fact  that  they  are  composed  of 
prophecy,  which  means  either  preaching  or  prediction. 
There  is  very  little  history  or  other  matter  in  them. 
They  form  a  distinct  class.  There  are  seventeen  of 
them.  They  are  sometimes  divided  into  five  major 
prophets, — Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Lamentations,  Ezekiel, 
Daniel, — and  twelve  minor  prophets, — Hosea,  Joel, 
Amos,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  Micah,  Nahum,  Habakkuk, 
Zephaniah,  Haggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi.  These, 
especially  the  minor  prophets,  will  be  difiicult  to 
memorize.  Their  abbreviations  form  a  sort  of  crude 
rhyme  which  will  assist  the  memory. 

Ho.  Jo.  Am. 

Ob.  Jo.  Mi.  Na. 

Hab.  Ze.  Hag.  Ze. 

Malachi. 

By  learning  the  names  of  the  books  of  the  Bible  by 
groups  they  will  the  more  easily  be  remembered  and 
their  meaning  also.  It  is  as  necessary  to  learn  these 
as  it  is  to  know  the  alphabet. 

The  New  Testament  is  divided  into  similar  groups. 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible       41 

The  four  gospels  stand  by  themselves  because  they 
give  the  story  of  the  life  of  Christ.  They  are  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke,  John.  They  are  like  the  books 
of  Moses  in  that  they  give  us  the  laws  of  Christ  as  the 
others  give  us  the  laws  of  Moses.  They  are  the  books 
of  Christian  law.  The  book  of  Acts  stands  by  itself, 
and  corresponds  to  the  twelve  historical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament. 

The  Epistles  are  a  large  group  of  twenty-one  books, 
and,  like  the  minor  prophets,  will  be  difficult  to  mem- 
orize. There  are  two  classes  of  them,  the  epistles  by 
Paul  and  those  by  other  writers.  Paul's  are  Romans, 
I  and  2  Corinthians,  Galatians,  Ephesians,  Philip- 
pians,  Colossians,  i  and  2  Thessalonians,  i  and  2 
Timothy,  Titus,  Philemon,  and  Hebrews.  The  latter 
may  be  classed  with  Paul's  for  want  of  a  better  classi- 
fication, for  there  is  no  unanimity  as  to  who  was  the 
author.  These  are  fourteen  in  number.  The  other 
group  includes  seven ;  James,  i  and  2  Peter,  i,  2  and 
3  John,  and  Jude.  Fourteen  and  seven,  twenty-one 
in  all.  All  multiples  of  seven.  The  Epistles  contain 
the  spiritual  development  of  the  wisdom  of  the  New- 
Testament,  its  theology  and  directions  for  Christian  life. 
In  this  it  agrees  with  the  poetical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

The  last  book  in  the  New  Testament  stands  by  itself. 
The  Revelation  is  unlike  any  other.  The  Revelation 
corresponds  to  the  prophetical  books  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

We  have  now  four  parts  of  the  Old  Testanaent  and 


42  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

four  parts  of  the  New  Testament.  These  correspond 
with  each  other  as  we  will  see  by  placing  them  in  op- 
posite lists.  It  will  be  seen  that  they  follow  common 
lines  of  character. 

Pentateuch  (5)  Gospels         (4) 

History       (12)  Acts               (i) 

Poetry           (5)  Epistles       (21) 

Prophecy    (17)  Revelation    (i) 


(39)  (27) 

It  will  be  noticed  that  these  groups  in  the  Bible  do 
not  correspond  in  the  number  of  books  or  in  the  amount 
of  matter  which  they  contain.  That  would  be  a  mere 
mechanical  agreement.  It  is  in  character  and  not 
quantity  -that  they  divide  into  groups.  These  groups 
are  separated  by  natural  lines  of  division,  as  much  so 
as  the  parts  of  an  orange  or  of  a  flower. 

The  correspondence  between  the  four  groups  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  four  groups  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment will  be  seen  at  once.  The  first  groups  are  the 
Pentateuch  and  the  Gospels,  the  Pentateuch  the  law  by 
Moses,  the  Gospels  the  law  by  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  sec- 
ond group  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament  lies  over 
against  that  of  the  New  in  Acts.  The  Poetical  books  give 
the  wisdom  of  the  Old  and  correspond  with  the  Epis- 
tles, which  give  us  the  wisdom  of  the  Christian  age ;  and 
the  one  book  of  prophecy  in  the  New  agrees  with  the 
seventeen  of  the  Old. 

These  groups  may  be  united  with  each  other  and 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible       43 

the  scope  of  all  shown  by  four  alliterative  words; 
Precept,  Practice,  Piety,  Prophecy,  describing  the 
character  of  each  as  follows  : 


Pentateuch. 

Precept. 

Gospels. 

History. 

Practice. 

Acts. 

Poetry. 

Piety. 

Epistles. 

Prophecy. 

Prophecy. 

Revelation. 

The  first  group  of  each  includes  books  of  Precept. 
The  Pentateuch  contains  the  Precepts  of  the  Old 
Testament,  the  Gospels  the  Precepts  of  the  New. 
The  second  groups  are  books  of  Practice.  The  Old 
gives  these  precepts  in  practice  and  often  not  in 
practice ;  the  New  gives  the  precepts  of  Christ  as  ex- 
hibited in  practice  in  the  New  Testament  age.  The  next 
groups  we  designate  by  the  word  Piety,  which,  as 
an  alliterative  word,  expresses  the  wisdom  and  life  of 
the  poetical  and  epistolary  books.  The  last  groups  in- 
clude the  Prophecy  books. 

There  is  a  further  agreement  in  these  four  divisions 
in  each  Testament.  If  we  divide  a  human  life  into 
four  parts,  the  first  quarter  will  be  spent  in  learning, 
the  child  his  lessons,  the  young  man  his  trade  or 
profession,  and  all  of  us  lessons  in  life.  This  corre- 
sponds to  the  first  group  in  each  Testament.  It  is  the 
precept  part  of  each  Testament.  The  second  quarter 
of  a  person's  life  is  the  time  of  activity.  The  man  is 
in  his  profession  or  trade  or  business.  This  corre- 
sponds to  the  second  group  of  each  part  of  the  Bible, 


44  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

the  history  groups.  The  third  quarter  is  the  time  of 
thought  and  contemplation.  The  man  in  middle  life 
wants  to  think  more  deeply,  to  form  a  philosophy,  a 
system  of  religion,  to  see  the  reason  of  things.  To 
this  the  third  part  corresponds,  the  group  of  wisdom 
books.  The  fourth  quarter  of  a  life  is  the  time  of 
retrospection  or  looking  to  the  future.  To  this  the 
fourth  class  in  each  part  of  the  Bible  corresponds. 
So  that  the  Bible  follows  our  life.  As  children  we 
naturally  begin  with  the  first  books  of  the  Bible,  Genesis 
or  the  Gospels.  The  youth  loves  history  or  story,  to 
that  age  the  narrative  books  of  the  Bible  appeal.  The 
man  in  middle  life  will  be  attracted  to  the  more  con- 
templative parts,  as  he  feels  the  burden  and  problems 
of  life,  and  so  turns  to  the  books  of  wisdom  in  the  third 
class.  The  aged  Christian  loves  those  which  tell  of 
the  future  and  are  so  mysterious  to  others. 

The  Bible,  then,  has  an  organization.  It  has  a  sym- 
metrical form.  There  is  evidence  of  a  superintending 
hand  even  in  the  form  in  which  it  has  come  to  us,  and 
this  is  the  order  generally  speaking  in  which  it  was 
given. 

2.     Lines  of  Unity  in  the  Bible. 

There  are  certain  lines  of  unity  suggested  by  the 
foregoing  view  which  we  ought  to  notice  in  beginning 
the  study  of  the  Bible. 

I.  Unity  of  form.  This  we  have  seen  in  the  pre- 
ceding section.  There  is  certainly  unity,  as  any  one 
can  see.     This,  in  a  book  given  during  sixteen  hundred 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible        45 

years  and  by  forty  different  writers,  is  remarkable 
enough  to  lead  us  to  see  design  in  it  all  and  that  de- 
sign more  than  human. 

2.  Unity  of  history.  We  shall  see  that  the  Bible 
tells  one  story.  It  is  one  narrative.  We  are  not  to 
take  up  the  study  of  disconnected  books  or  narratives. 
They  are  most  intimately  connected  by  a  continuous 
line  running  through  the  whole  book  from  Genesis  to 
Revelation. 

3.  Unity  of  doctrine.  It  is  one  system  of  truth. 
The  doctrines  of  God,  man,  sin,  grace,  redemption, 
and  hereafter  are  the  same  throughout. 

4.  Unity  of  spiritual  experience.  The  saints  of 
the  Old  Testament  are  like  those  of  the  New  and  all 
like  ourselves.  The  nature  of  man  being  the  same, 
the  grace  of  God  being  the  same,  the  nature  of  life 
and  the  world  the  same,  we  may  expect  the  experi- 
ences to  be  alike  also,  and  they  are. 

5.  Unity  of  prophecy.  The  prophecies  of  the 
Old  are  continued  in  the  New  and  we  see  the  same 
outlook  in  each  part. 

3.     Lines  of  Diversity. 
The  two  great  parts  of  the  Bible  also  present  some 
striking  contrasts.     We  will  notice  some  of  these.    They 
are  necessary  to  a  right  understanding  of  the  Bible. 

1.  We  have  seen  the  different  manner  in  which 
they  came,  the  Old  during  a  thousand  years,  the 
New  in  one  generation. 

2.  Also  the  great  teachers  of  each.     **  God  who 


46  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  times 
past  unto  the  fathers  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken 
unto  us  in  His  Son."  Moses  and  the  prophets  are 
the  great  teachers  of  the  Old.  Christ  and  His  apos- 
tles are  the  great  teachers  of  the  New. 

3.  The  persons  addressed,  or  written  of,  form  an- 
other striking  contrast.  In  the  Old  Testament  it  is 
Israel.  It  is  their  history.  To  them  the  admonitions 
are  addressed.  Other  nations  come  in  only  because 
they  touch  Israel.  In  the  New  it  is  the  Church,  a  spirit- 
ual body  universal,  and  especially  the  Gentile  Church. 
This  difference  is  recognized  in  this  passage. 
**  Moses  was  faithful  in  all  his  house  as  a  servant. 
.  .  .  But  Christ  as  a  Son  over  His  own  house ' ' 
(Heb.  3:5,  6).  Israel  is  addressed  as  a  nation. 
True  there  is  much  to  individuals  in  the  Old.  But 
not  only  Israel,  but  other  peoples  are  addressed  mostly 
as  nations  and  their  destiny  as  such  is  in  the  foreground. 
In  the  New  Testament  the  messages  are  principally  to 
the  Church  and  to  individuals. 

4.  The  subjects  with  which  each  part  deals  is  another 
point  of  difference.  The  Old  Testament  has  little 
about  the  future  life  and  the  other  world.  It  is  there, 
but  not  developed.  In  the  New  Testament  these 
form  the  great  subjects.  The  other  world  and  the 
future  life  are  fully  declared.  In  the  Old  again  it 
is  largely  secular  matters  which  are  taught;  Israel's 
life  as  a  nation  and  national  duties ;  the  relations 
of  man  in  social  life.  Politics  are  dwelt  upon  and 
matters  of  state.     In  the  New  there  is  little  of  all  this. 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible        47 

Man's  spiritual  duties  and  interests  are  the  great  theme. 
It  will  be  seen  that  these  two  parts  are  supplementary 
to  each  other. 

4.    Lines  of  Development. 
We  are  to  look  for  the  development  of  certain  lines 
as  we  go  on  with  the  study  of  the  Bible. 

1.  We  shall  see  a  succession  of  ages  or  periods  of 
dispensation  in  the  history  of  man,  during  which  we 
will  see  changes  of  condition  and  divine  actings  to- 
wards him.  It  will  be  important  to  discriminate  be- 
tween these  so  as  to  know  what  applies  to  each  of  the 
scriptures  we  study. 

2.  We  must  expect  to  see  an  unfolding  of  divine 
operation.  The  Bible  shows  God  at  work  among 
mankind  in  the  past.  He  is  still  at  work  and  on  the 
same  plan  extended. 

3.  We  shall  also  see  an  extending  sphere  of  grace. 
At  first  we  shall  see  God  working  with  individuals, 
then  later  with  families,  afterwards  with  a  nation  and 
now  with  a  world-wide  body,  the  Church,  and  still 
later  not  only  the  whole  world,  but  other  worlds  come 
within  the  sphere  of  grace. 

4.  We  shall  see  a  series  of  divine  covenants  given  to 
man,  beginning  with  the  first  to  Adam,  following  with 
another  to  Noah,  and  a  third  to  Abraham,  and  a  fourth 
to  Israel,  and  a  fifth  to  David,  and  a  sixth  to  us  in 
Christ,  and  a  seventh  to  the  world  in  the  New  Earth. 
All  these  are  displays  of  the  Everlasting  covenant  given 
Christ  in  the  Eternal  ages. 


48  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

5.  A  development  of  truth  will  be  seen.  We  shall 
find  the  germs  of  all  truth  in  the  earlier  books,  and 
these  brought  out  more  clearly  in  the  succeeding  parts. 
Successive  revelations  are  given  to  each  of  God's 
people.  Enoch  learns  more  than  Adam,  and  Noah 
more  than  he;  and  so  Abraham,  Moses  and  others 
down  to  Christ  and  His  apostles,  receive  ever  greater 
revelations,  and  at  last,  John,  the  greatest  of  all. 

6.  We  shall  see  also  a  rise  in  godly  character  in  the 
successive  persons  who  come  before  us.  Each  great 
Bible  character  is  a  greater  one  spiritually  than  those 
who  were  before  him. 

7.  The  Revelation  of  Christ  is  the  great  theme  of 
the  Bible.  We  see  Him  first  with  the  Father  in  the 
eternal  past,  then  in  creation,  afterwards  with  the  Old 
Testament  church,  later  in  earthly  life,  now  in  His 
present  state  and  the  coming  day  of  the  Lord,  and 
at  last  in  the  eternal  future.  This  eternal  view  of 
Christ  is  the  view  of  the  Bible  and  its  great  theme. 
It  is  to  reveal  God,  for  Christ  is  the  revelation  of  God. 
The  theme,  then,  of  the  Bible  is  God,  and  Christ  in  His 
many  characters  as  His  manifestation.^ 

5.     Full  View  of  the  Bible. 
The  entire  view  of  the  Bible  is  shown  in  this  dia- 
gram to  which  there  are  added  some  of  the  lines  of 
unity,  diversity  and  development  above  described,  and 
some  of  the  lines  we  expect  to  cover  in  these  studies. 

2  See  "  The  Greater  Life  and  Work  of  Christ,"  by  the  author 
of  this  book. 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible        49 


The  King  and 

Kingdom 


O^^cnjoM 


S.I:'*' 


-:  S?  ^  «  5 


fif  ' 


Prophecy 

o 

a 
n 

Revelation 


Poetry 

a> 

Epistles 


.r 


(/3 


as- 


2  o  2.  O  o  =r 

«   — in   O    3   rt 

I  ■  w  3  nS 

H     ^  ""  2  • 

5.       g'- 


:    :    :    H  : 


History        Pentateueh 
O  O         K 


o 

Acts 


'^^^^ 


Qn    1 


so  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

6.     A  View  of  the  Old  Testament. 

We  will  now  take  up  the  first  great  division  of  the 
Bible,  the  Old  Testament,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  a 
perspective  view  of  it.  It  occupies  three-fourths  of 
the  whole  Bible.  This  is  all  one  great  story.  It  is 
all  about  the  people  of  Israel.  It  tells  their  rise  and 
progress,  their  fall,  and  predicts  their  future.  Along 
this  we  find  the  great  lesson  God  would  have  us  learn. 
It  is  a  great  sermon  in  story.  While  perfectly  true,  it 
is  also  a  great  allegorical  representation  of  great  moral 
and  spiritual  truths.  We  might  call  it  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress  of  the  Bible,  only  the  happy  ending  of  Bun- 
yan's  pilgrim  has  not  been  reached  yet  in  the  Israelitish 
nation  except  in  prophecy  and  allegorically. 

The  whole  history  of  Israel  in  the  Old  Testament 
may  be  described  as  The  Rise  and  Fall  of  Israel.  It 
may  be  represented  by  an  ascending  and  descending 
line  on  which  we  will  arrange  approximately  all  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  order  in  which 
they  lie  in  the  story.  The  following  diagram  will 
represent  this : 


We  have  placed  the  highest  point  of  their  history  in 
the  time  of  David  and  Solomon.     This  was  spiritually 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible        51 

and  typically  their  time  of  greatest  glory.  The  books 
we  have  placed  along  this  ascending  and  descending 
line  as  they  occur  in  the  narrative.  Those  on  the 
ascending  line  tell  of  their  rise.  Those  on  the  de- 
scending line  tell  of  the  time  of  their  fall.  The  poetical 
books,  except  Job,  were  mostly  written  at  the  time 
of  their  greatest  glory.  The  Prophets  came  as  they 
began  to  descend.  By  keeping  clearly  in  mind  this 
brief  outline  a  view  is  had  of  the  general  place  of  the 
respective  parts  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Another  diagram  will  assist  in  the  understanding  of 
the  historical  part  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Israel's  history  may  be  roughly  outlined  as  a  period 
of  two  thousand  years  from  Abraham  to  Christ.  This 
period  may  be  divided  into  four  parts  of  about  equal 
length.  Some  of  these  parts  are  longer,  some  shorter, 
but  this  will  do  approximately,  and  later  we  will 
correct  the  periods.  We  may  describe  these  four 
parts  of  Israel's  history  alliteratively  by  four  words, 
the  Camp,  Commonwealth,  Crown  and  Captivity, 
using  the  latter  word  for  the  entire  period  of  the  sub- 
jection. 


I       Camp         .Commonwealth  .      Crown       .Captivity 
THE  Pentateuch  I  Joshua  Judges  I.II  Sam.  UI  Kings     Ezra.  Neh 
I         Ruth         |       I.IIChrON.    |      ESTHER 

OUTLINE   OF   ISRAEL'S   HISTORY. 

The  Camp  period  includes  the  time  of  their  history 
before  they  became  a  setded  people  in  their  own  land. 
It  includes  the  time  of  pilgrimage  of  their  great  an- 
cestors, Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  the  time  of 


52  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

their  stay  in  Egypt  and  of  the  journey  to  Canaan. 
The  next  period,  the  Commonwealth,  includes  the 
time  they  were  under  judges  in  Canaan.  The  third, 
the  Crown  period,  the  time  when  they  had  independ- 
ent kings  of  their  own ;  and  the  last  period,  the 
Captivity,  when  they  were  under  foreign  powers,  but 
not  always  as  captives. 

The  books  which  tell  of  these  periods  are  given  on 
the  diagram.  It  is  well  to  learn  these  and  associate 
them  in  mind  with  these  general  periods. 

We  will  first  take  the  Camp  period  and  look  at  the 
books  which  give  the  story  of  the  origin  and  rise  of 
Israel  as  a  nation.  The  Pentateuch  tells  us  this 
story.  It  includes,  as  has  been  said,  the  story  of  the 
pilgrimage  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  life  of 
Israel  in  Egypt  and  their  journey  to  Canaan.  In 
Egypt  they  were  but  pilgrims.  There  they  grew 
physically  into  a  nation.  In  the  Wilderness  they  be- 
came a  nation  politically. 

7.     Genesis. 

We  have  taken  a  series  of  views  first  of  the  whole 
Bible,  then  of  the  Old  Testament  and  last  of  the 
Pentateuch.  We  will  now  take  a  single  book, 
Genesis. 

Genesis  is  in  some  respects  the  most  remarkable 
book  in  the  Bible.  The  name  Genesis  is  from  the 
title  in  the  Greek  version.  It  means  the  genera- 
tion. It  will  give  a  key  to  the  book.  It  is  a  book 
of   beginnings.      It    shows   the   beginning    of   mat- 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible        5:3 

ter,  of  the  world,  of  life,  of  man,  marriage  and  home, 
of  grace,  of  sin  in  the  world,  of  redemption,  of  the 
church,  of  the  promised  Saviour,  of  nations,  of  law, 
and  of  the  chosen  people.  All  study  of  things  secular 
as  well  as  sacred  must  go  back  to  Genesis. 

No  other  book  in  the  Bible  contains  such  a  succession 
of  interesting  and  generally  well-known  narratives  as 
Eden,  Cain,  Abel,  the  Flood,  the  Tower  of  Babel, 
Hagar,  Lot  and  Sodom,  Ishmael,  Isaac  offered,  Re- 
becca, Jacob  and  Esau,  Jacob's  ladder,  Rachel,  Jacob 
at  Peniel,  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  Joseph  in  Egypt. 
These  form  a  succession  of  narratives  of  surpassing 
and  dramatic  interest  and  laden  with  truth.  This  is 
one  reason  why  Genesis  is  the  place  to  commence 
Bible  study. 

Another  great  feature  is  the  extent  of  time  it  covers. 
This  will  be  seen  by  a  diagram.  We  will  use  the 
common  chronology  here  and  elsewhere  for  want  of  a 
better,  for  there  is  no  agreement  as  to  early  Bible 
chronology  by  those  who  reject  this.  Besides,  the  fact 
here  shown  would  be  more  remarkable  if  we  used  a 
longer  time. 

We  will  represent  the  time  covered  by  Genesis  and 
by  all  the  rest  of  the  Bible. 


'       '       '       *       I       '    _i 

Genesis    2300  Yrs.     l^fg^p^Oj^l 


It  will  be  seen  that  Genesis  covers  2,300  years  and 
the  rest  of  the  Old  Testament  1,000  years.  Genesis 
extends   nearly   half-way  across  the  6,000  years  as- 


54  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

signed  to  human  history  according  to  the  old  chro- 
nology. If  we  take  a  longer  chronology,  it  covers  the 
greater  part  of  human  history. 

But  we  must  remember  here  that  the  Bible  was  not 
written  to  give  a  history  of  the  world.  It  touches  the 
rest  of  the  world  only  as  it  is  necessary  for  the  great 
narrative  it  gives. 

A  good  method  by  which  to  get  the  contents  of  a  book 
of  the  Bible  is  to  read  it  carefully  with  pencil  and  paper 
in  hand,  and,  having  read  a  chapter,  to  write  in  a  word 
on  the  paper  the  contents  of  the  chapter ;  say  it  is  the 
first  chapter  of  Genesis,  the  word  '^creation"  de- 
scribes it.  Then  take  the  second  chapter  in  like 
manner,  and  so  through  the  book.  If  there  is  more 
than  one  subject  in  the  chapter  take  the  principal  or 
most  suggestive.  After  making  a  list  of  all,  look 
over  the  list  and  group  the  chapters.  In  this  way 
you  will  have  an  analysis  of  the  whole  book. 

Now,  taking  Genesis  in  this  way,  it  will  be  seen  to  be 
the  history  of  three  families,  Adam's,  Noah's,  Abra- 
ham's. 

1.  Adam's  family, — Chapters  i  to  5. 

2.  Noah's  family, — Chapters  6  to  11. 

3.  Abraham's  family, — Chapters  12  to  50. 
Adam's   family   means,   of  course,   his   immediate 

descendants  to  Noah;  and  Noah's  family,  his  de- 
scendants to  Abraham.  Abraham's  family  includes 
three  further  divisions  ;  the  chapters  that  relate  to  his 
own  history,  those  relating  to  Jacob,  and  those  relating 
to  Joseph. 


Bird's-Eye  Views  of  the  Bible        ^^ 

1.  Abraham, — Chapters  12  to  24. 

2.  Jacob, — Chapters  25  to  ^6. 

3.  Joseph, — Chapters  37  to  50. 

These  also  are  only  general  divisions  for  ease  of  re- 
membering. So  that,  in  all,  five  divisions  are  made, 
relating  respectively  to  Adam,  Noah,  Abraham,  Jacob 
and  Joseph.  Isaac  has  only  mention  with  others ;  only 
a  single  chapter  is  given  exclusively  to  him. 

We  also  notice  that  Adam's  family  occupies  five  chap- 
ters, Noah's  six,  and  Abraham's  the  rest  of  the  book, 
thirty-nine.  The  history  of  Abraham  and  his  family 
occupies  three  and  a-half  times  the  space,  yet  only 
covers  a  seventh  of  the  time.  Evidently  Abraham  is 
the  important  character.  All  the  foregoing  chapters 
are  then  only  introductory  to  Abraham.  This  is  in 
accord  with  the  plan  of  the  Bible  as  we  have  seen. 
Israel,  of  whom  Abraham  is  the  progenitor,  is  the 
great  theme  and  all  else  accessory  only.  So  that  we 
are  to  enter  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  especially  of 
Genesis,  with  the  understanding  that  this  is  the  great 
subject,  and  that  all  preceding  is  only  introductory, 
and  that  only  so  much  is  given  as  is  necessary  to  a 
right  introduction  to,  and  study  of,  the  history  of  the 
chosen  people. 

Genesis  is  divided  into  ten  narratives,  each  of  which 
commences  with  the  words,  *' These  are  the  gener- 
ations of "     Once  it  is,  ''  This  is  the  book  of  the 

generations  of ' '  So  we  have  the  history  intro- 
duced of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  (2  :  4),  Adam  (5  :  i), 
Noah  (6 :  9),  Sons  of  Noah  (10  :  i),  Shem  (11  :  10), 


SG  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Terah  (ii  :  27),  Ishmael  (25  :  12),  Isaac  (25  :  19), 
Esau  (^2)^  :  i),  Jacob  (37  :  2).  This  is  a  scriptural  way 
of  beginning  a  narrative.  So  the  history  of  Christ  in 
Matthew  begins.  These  divisions  could  be  followed 
as  a  method  of  study,  but  with  our  plan  this  would 
divide  the  matter  into  too  many  parts  and  fail  to  give 
that  sweep  we  desire.  It  is  well  to  notice  these  in 
passing,  however. 

The  order  of  study  that  we  shall  follow  will  be :  i, 
The  Creation ;  2,  Eden  and  the  Fall ;  3,  The  Flood  ;  4, 
Origin  of  the  Nations;  5,  Abraham;  6,  Jacob;  7, 
Joseph.  We  will  group  around  these  the  subsidiary 
topics. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  CREATION 

Genesis  i,  2. 

The  study  of  the  Creation  well  deserves  a  larger 
place  than  is  usually  given  to  it.  While  it  is  true  that 
the  space  devoted  to  any  event  is  some  guide  to  its  im- 
portance, this  is  not  an  infaUible  guide.  For  here  we 
have  but  two  chapters,  yet  they  are  of  vital  and  far-reach- 
ing importance.  Libraries  have  been  written  upon  them. 
This  subject  lies  at  the  basis  of  all  modern  science  and 
thought,  and  here  are  the  great  questions  which  vex 
the  mind  to-day.  Therefore  to  pass  it  over  with  a 
mere  enumeration  of  the  items  is  not  true  study.  We 
may  be  mistaken  in  our  conceptions,  yet  any  study  is 
better  than  neglect. 

The  topical  parts  of  the  narrative  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  Creation  of  the  world  and  its  physical  and 
animal  contents. 

2.  The  Creation  of  Man. 

The  first  chapter  of  Genesis  is  the  key  to  the  whole 
Bible.  We  are  struck  with  its  simplicity, — it  contains 
but  about  1,000  words;  also  with  its  sublimity,  com- 
pared to  all  other  cosmogonies.  It  evidences  divinity 
in  its  structure  as  well  as  in  the  scientific  accuracy  of 
its  teachings.  « 

57 


58  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

The  opening  sentence  is  one  of  the  most  weighty  in 
the  Bible.  ''  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven 
and  the  earth."  Dr.  Murphy  says  :  '*  It  denies  athe- 
ism, for  it  assumes  the  being  of  God.  It  denies  poly- 
theism, for  it  confesses  the  one  Eternal  Creator.  It 
denies  materialism,  for  it  asserts  the  creation  of  matter. 
It  denies  pantheism,  for  it  assumes  the  existence  of 
God  before  all  things  and  apart  from  them.  It  denies 
fatalism,  for  it  involves  the  freedom  of  the  Eternal 
Being"  (Commentary  on  Genesis,  p.  30). 

I.     The  Godhead  in  Creation. 

The  scriptures  teach  that  the  several  persons  of  the 
Trinity  had  a  part  in  creation.  The  first  verse  of  the 
chapter  might  be  translated,  **  In  the  beginning  the 
Godhead  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth."  The 
word  in  the  original  is  plural.  God  the  Father,  God 
the  Son,  God  the  Holy  Spirit  had  special  spheres  in 
creation.  Some  of  the  scriptures  which  teach  this  are 
as  follows  :  *'  There  is  one  God  the  Father,  of  whom 
are  all  things,  and  we  unto  Him ;  and  one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  through  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  through 
Him"  (i  Cor.  8:  6).  *'By  whom  also  He  made 
the  worlds"  (Heb.  i :  2).  ''In  Him  were  all  things 
created,  in  the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth,  things 
visible  and  things  invisible,  whether  thrones  or  domin- 
ions or  principalities  or  powers ;  all  things  have  been 
created  through  Him,  and  unto  Him ;  and  He  is 
before  all  things  and  in  Him  all  things  consist ' '  (Col. 


The  Creation  59 

i:  16,  17).  "The  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters  "  (Gen.  1:2).  ''By  His  Spirit  He 
hath  garnished  the  heavens.  The  Spirit  of  God  hath 
made  me  "  (Job  26  :    13  ;  ^^:  4). 

So  that  the  teaching  of  scripture  as  to  creation  is 
that  God  the  Father  is  the  ultimate  source  of  all; 
Christ  was  the  active  agent  in  the  creation  or  forma- 
tion of  all  and  the  Holy  Spirit  the  source  of  life  of  all. 
This  agrees  with  the  teachings  of  science  of  the  three 
great  unities  in  nature,  a  unity  of  substance,  a  unity 
of  form,  and  a  unity  of  life. 

2.     Extent  of  the  Six  Days'  Creation. 

We  need  to  enquire  how  far  the  account  in  this 
chapter  extends.  The  verse,  ''In  the  beginning  God 
created  the  heaven  and  the  earth,"  is  generally  inter- 
preted of  the  entire  universe.  It  may  be  applied  to 
that,  but  it  is  not  so  used  here.  The  "heaven"  here 
mentioned  is  not  the  heaven  of  the  universe  of  fixed 
stars.  It  is  defined  in  the  eighth  verse  as  "  the  firma- 
ment," that  is  our  earth's  heaven  or  immediate  sur- 
roundings. 

A  scholar  states :  "  The  expression,  '  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,'  was  among  the  Hebrews  the  common 
designation  for  the  world,  for  which  the  Old  Testa- 
ment has  no  single  expression.  It  always  means  the 
terrestrial  globe  and  its  aerial  firmament."  The  stars 
in  the  Fourth  Day's  work  in  connection  with  the  sun 
and  moon  are  the  planets  only.  We  need  not  then 
look  further  in  this  chapter  than  the  solar  system,  of 


6o  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

which  our  earth  is  part  and  with  which  it  is  so  closely 
connected.  The  boundless  universe  of  fixed  stars  is 
mentioned  in  other  parts  of  scripture,  but  not  here. 

Undoubtedly,  the  earth  and  the  entire  solar  system, 
being  parts  of  the  universe,  were  created,  so  far  as 
their  original  form  and  subsequent  formation,  at  the 
same  time  as  the  universe,  for  all  are  one  in  substance 
and  general  form  and  in  the  energies  that  animate 
them.  We  must  notice  that  no  time  is  mentioned 
when  the  earth  was  created  or  the  length  of  time  for 
the  process.  All  that  is  said  on  these  points  is  that  it 
was  *'  In  the  beginning." 

3.    State  of  the  Earth  Before  the  Six  Days* 

Creation. 

The  next  point  necessary  to  a  right  understanding 
of  the  chapter  is  the  state  of  the  earth  before  the  Six 
Days'  Creation  began.  *'  The  earth  was  waste  and 
void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep,  and 
the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters." 
Here  is  a  change  from  the  authorized  version,  which 
reads,  "the  earth  was  without  form  and  void."  The 
two  statements  are  radically  different.  The  revised 
translation  is  the  true  one.  It  describes  not  chaos  or 
the  primeval  state  of  an  unformed  earth,  but  a  state 
of  desolation.  The  same  word  is  used  in  Jer.  4 :  23, 
where  the  prophet  sees  in  vision  the  earth  after  the 
desolations  of  the  last  day. 

Again-  the  Bible  statement  is  that  the  earth  was 
covered  or  largely  covered  with  water  just  before  the 


The  Creation  6l 

Six  Days'  work  began.  This  is  not  chaos  or  the 
primeval  form  of  earth.  It  shows  the  earth  in  a 
spherical  shape,  and  under  the  ocean  must  have  been 
a  solid  floor  or  crust  of  earth  with  its  series  of 
rocky  strata.  This  was  a  comparatively  finished  state 
of  earth,  and  far  from  the  idea  generally  held  of  a 
chaotic  state.  All  that  intervenes  between  the  original 
creation  of  the  earth  and  its  state  as  here  described  is 
passed  over  in  silence. 

There  is  therefore  an  interval  between  the  first  and 
second  verses.  In  that  interval  lies  all  geology  tells 
us  of.  The  history  of  the  formation  and  after  progress 
of  the  earth  is  there.  This  includes  all  up  to  the 
beginning  of  the  Six  Days'  Creation.  Here  is  where 
the  fossil  creatures  lived  and  died.  All  this  is  passed 
over  in  silence  in  the  Bible  account.  It  takes  up  the 
story  after  the  desolations  which  geology  tells  us  ended 
that  time.  This  left  the  world  as  stated,  *'  waste  and 
void."  So  we  do  not  have  to  read  into  this  chapter 
the  account  of  the  long  ages  in  which  were  formed  the 
earth's  crust  with  its  countless  races  of  fossil  creatures. 

Science  and  the  Bible  agree  that  our  present  order 
of  nature  is  a  late  and  comparatively  recent  one  as 
compared  with  the  geologic  ages. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  here  that  geology  tells  us  that 
there  was  such  a  time  or  age  or  series  of  ages  of  com- 
parative desolation  just  before  our  present  races  of  ani- 
mals and  plants,  and,  especially,  just  before  man  came. 
The  Great  Ice  Age  was  such  a  state  of  earth.  Geology 
tells  us  that  the  ice  was  i,ooo  feet  thick  over  Cincinnati 


62  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

and  10,000  feet  thick  over  New  England.  The  south- 
ern ice  was  12,000  feet  thick,  as  shown  by  its  marks 
on  the  mountains  of  South  America.  The  darkness 
was  intense.     The  whole  lasted  200,000  years. 

Without  sunlight  and  with  such  a  climate  the  earth 
might  have  been  well  described  as  <'  waste  and  void." 
Whether  this  was  the  age  the  Bible  account  refers  to  we 
cannot  say,  but  it  corresponds  to  it  in  many  respects. 

The  Six  Days'  Creation  then  is  to  be  regarded,  as 
plainly  shown  in  the  chapter,  as  one  of  a  series  of 
creations,  in  which  the  earth  is  repopulated  and  pre- 
pared for  the  use  of  man.  Man  is  the  great  object  in 
the  divine  mind.  Even  the  past  ages  are  intended 
to  prepare  the  earth  for  him.  Its  wealth  of  coal  and 
oil  and  gas  and  metals  and  rocks  were  all  in  the  mind 
of  God  intended  for  man.  He  filled  the  cellar  with 
fuel  and  other  necessaries  before  He  brought  the  fami- 
lies of  living  creatures  upon  it.  Here  is  an  illustration 
of  the  prevenient  grace  of  God. 

4.     The  Six  Days'  Creation. 
The  Six  Days'  Creation  lies  in  two  parallel  groups  as 
shown  in  the  following  list.     The  opposite  days  cor- 
respond to  each  other. 

I.  Light.  IV.  The  Sun,  Moon  and  Planets. 

II.   Waters  and  Atmosphere.    V.  Water  and  Air  Animals. 
III.  Land  and  Vegetation.       VI.  Land  Animals  and  Man. 

The  order  of  the  Six  Days'  Creation  should  be 
noticed  and  learned,  for  there  is  a  deep  spiritual  lesson 


The  Creation  63 

to  be  learned  from  it,  which  we  will  consider  at  the 
close.     We  will  examine  each  day's  work  separately. 

We  need  to  notice  the  scientific  order  in  which  the 
creative  days  are  given.  First  the  elements,  light  and 
air,  then  vegetation,  after  that  the  lowest  forms  of 
living  creatures  and  succeeding  them  the  higher  orders 
and  man  last  of  all.  This  is  the  order  science  tells  of 
also.  The  earth  was  in  darkness  and  largely  covered 
with  water.  Vegetation  preceded  animal  life  and  the 
lowest  orders  came  first  and  man  was  the  last  that 
appeared.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  this  account  has, 
as  all  know,  been  in  writing  for  thousands  of  years  and 
while  the  world  was  in  ignorance  of  all  this,  we  must 
here  see  evidence,  as  Dana  the  geologist  writes  as 
quoted  before,  that  a  divine  hand  gave  the  account. 

The  study  of  the  succeeding  days  will  disclose 
other  facts  of  this  kind. 

1.  The  First  Day  gave  light.  Not  that  this  was 
the  first  appearance  of  light  in  the  universe  or  even  in 
the  earth.  The  account  does  not  say  that.  It  simply 
speaks  of  light  on  the  earth.  The  sun,  whose  relations 
to  the  earth  are  fixed  in  the  Fourth  Day's  work,  was 
then  shining,  but  the  dense  vapors  excluded  its  rays 
from  earth.  The  First  Day's  work  then  was  the  ad- 
mission of  some  light  through  the  vapors  with  which 
the  earth  was  surrounded.  Light  must  precede  the 
life  of  vegetation  and  animals. 

2.  The  Second  Day  gives  the  formation  of  the 
present  atmosphere.  The  atmosphere  of  the  early 
ages  of  earth  was  pestilential  with  carbonic  gas.     It  was 


64  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

in  this  that  the  dense  forests  of  ferns  and  other  geologic 
plants  grew.  This  was  utterly  unfit  for  our  present 
order  of  animals  and  especially  man.  Dense  vapors 
preceded  the  Six  Days'  Creation  and  rested  on  the 
ocean's  surface.  The  lifting  of  these  and  their 
cleansing  from  the  deadly  gases  which  they  contained 
was  the  Second  Day's  work.  The  suspension  of  this 
mass  of  vapors  would  form  *'the  waters  which  are 
above  the  earth." 

3.  The  Third  Day's  work  was  the  elevation  of 
some  of  the  earth's  surface  above  the  ocean's  surface 
and  the  sprouting  of  the  first  forms  of  vegetable  life. 
The  earth  has  had  many  such  depressions  and  eleva- 
tions of  its  surface,  as  is  well  known.  How  quickly 
these  took  place  is  a  matter  of  dispute  in  science.  That 
God  could  do  this  quickly,  and,  indeed,  that  it  has 
occurred  quickly,  the  history  of  our  earth  shows,  some 
such  changes  are  matter  of  record  in  historic  times. 
The  clothing  of  this  part  of  the  earth  with  vegetation 
was  the  Third  Day's  work.  We  notice  the  botanical 
order  in  which  the  plants  are  named,  ''grass,  herb, 
tree,"  and  that  they  come  before  animals  as  the  neces- 
sary food  of  most  of  them. 

4.  The  Fourth  Day's  work  is  the  adjustment  of 
the  sun,  moon  and  planets  in  their  relationship  to 
earth.  We  must  keep  out  of  mind  any  idea  of  the 
sun's  creation  as  referred  to  here.  The  word 
"create"  is  not  used  of  this  day's  work.  The  sun 
was  long  in  use  and  as  it  is  now.  But  the  position  or 
orbit  or  relation  of  the  earth  to  the  sun  has  undergone 


The  Creation  65 

changes,  as  we  know.  This  day's  work  was  as  stated, 
<*  for  signs  and  seasons  and  for  days  and  for  years," 
and  "  for  lights."  We  have  here  the  apparent  purpose 
of  a  greater  degree  of  light  than  at  the  first  and  a 
different  relation  of  the  earth  to  the  heavenly  bodies, 
so  as  to  produce  not  only  the  rotation  of  seasons,  but 
also  the  calculation  of  years  and  days  and  other 
periods.  Some  scientists  have  said  that  the  earth's 
axis  was  once  parallel  to  the  sun  and  not  inclined  as 
now.  This  made  fixed  seasons.  The  inclination 
would  correspond  to  such  a  work  as  the  Fourth  Day's. 

5.  The  Fifth  Day's  work  was  the  production  of 
animal  life  of  the  lowest  orders.  The  English  words 
do  not  indicate  with  exactness  the  nature  of  each  class. 
They  are  all  egg-producing  creatures  and  these  are  the 
lowest  forms.     They  are  also  named  in  scientific  order. 

(i)  '<Let  the  waters  bring  forth  the  moving 
creature  that  hath  life,"  literally  let  the  waters  swarm 
with  swarmers.  The  immense  animal  population  of 
the  ocean  is  here  meant ;  not  the  fish,  they  come 
later  and  are  an  advanced  order,  but  the  lowest  orders 
of  water  animals. 

(2)  ''Let  fowl  fly  above  the  earth."  These  are 
not  the  birds,  for  they  are  mentioned  later  as  '*  winged 
fowl."  These  are  the  insects  and  properly  come 
after  the  lowest  form  of  animals  in  the  waters  from 
which  the  insects  largely  come. 

(3)  "Great  sea  monsters"  are  named  next. 
These  are  the  reptile  orders.  The  word  "sea"  is 
used  in  the  Bible  for  any  body  of  water. 


ee  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

(4)  Fish  are  meant  in  the  next  description. 
"Living  creatures  that  moveth,  that  the  waters 
brought  forth  abundantly,"  referring  to  the  immense 
fertihty  and  increase  of  the  fish  orders. 

(5)  Birds  are  meant  in  the  ''winged  fowl." 
These  come  last  and  are  highest  in  the  egg-producing 
class. 

6.  The  Sixth  Day's  work  gives  the  mammals,  the 
highest  order  of  animals,  ending  with  man.  They 
are  named  as  follows,  "Living  creatures,"  ''cattle," 
' '  creeping  things, "  "  beasts  of  the  earth . "  The  previous 
day's  creation  was  from  the  waters,  these  are  from  the 
earth,  "  Let  the  earth  bring  forth."  The  first  named 
are  the  smaller  earth  animals ;  the  cattle,  the  domestic 
orders;  the  "beasts  of  the  earth,"  the  beasts  of  prey, 
the  highest  in  the  order  of  intelligence. 

5.  The  Method  of  Creation. 
The  whole  account  gives  us  the  idea  of  a  succession 
of  creative  changes.  Whether  the  old  species  were 
used  in  the  creation  of  the  new  species  we  are  not  in 
so  many  words  told.  The  expressions  "  Let  the 
earth  bring  forth."  .  .  .  "  Let  the  waters  bring 
forth,"  some  claim  may  include  such  a  process.  But 
it  was  a  creation  and  not  the  long  and  infinitesimal 
changes  that  the  unproven  theory  of  Evolution  proposes. 
God  could  have  created  new  species  by  extraordinary 
births  of  new  from  old  and  this  is  proposed  as  a  solu- 
tion by  some.  This  would  agree  with  the  way  the 
fossil  creatures  came  and  went.     They  are  successive 


The  Creation  67 

in  history,  come  in  suddenly  in  small  numbers,  grow- 
to  great  proportions  and  pass  out  as  suddenly  as  they 
came.  In  our  present  order  all  the  species  are 
simultaneous  and  appear  to  have  come  in  nearly  so. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  no  case  of  Evolution  is 
known,  nor  any  law  by  which  it  could  have  taken 
place,  and  that  it  is  admitted  by  its  teachers  to  be  un- 
demonstrated,  we  may  dismiss  the  matter  so  far  as  it 
seems  to  controvert  the  Bible  account.  A  book  which 
has  proven  right  on  so  many  well  known  matters  may 
be  trusted  where  we  do  not  understand  the  facts,  as  in 
the  origin  of  life  and  its  forms,  the  laws  of  heredity 
and  countless  mysteries  in  all  nature  about  us.^ 

6.     The  Creation  of  Man. 

The  creation  of  man  was  a  special  act  of  the  God- 
head. It  was  preceded  by  a  special  consultation: 
"Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness." 

It  is  also  expressly  said,  "  God  created  man  in  His 
own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  created  He  him : 
male  and  female  created  He  them."  In  the  next 
chapter  the  process  is  described.  "  The  Lord  God 
formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground  and  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ;  and  man  became  a 
living  soul."  The  Avhole  narrative  expressly  forbids 
the  idea  that  he  had  any  connection  with  the  brutes, 

^See  "The  Other  Side  of  Evolution"  by  the  author  and  publisher 
of  this  book.  It  has  an  introduction  by  Prof.  George  Frederick 
Wright  of  Oberlin  University  and  gives  in  popular  form  the  areumcnis 
for  and  against  the  theory  of  evolution.  150  pages,  price,  60  ■.mr-,. 
Postage,  10  cents. 


68  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

whatever  might  have  been  his  origin.  The  descrip- 
tion of  that  first  man  is  utterly  inconsistent  with  the 
idea  presented  to  us  by  the  theory  of  Evolution. 
Adam  was  created  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God. 
A  brute,  whatever  in  the  way  of  soul  might  be  im- 
parted to  him  suddenly  or  gradually,  is  not  in  the 
likeness  or  image  of  God.  We  have  the  full  account 
of  one  who  was  in  the  image  of  God.  Christ  is  thus 
described.  ''The  effulgence  of  His  glory,  and  the 
very  image  of  His  substance  "  (Heb.  1:3).  By  com- 
paring the  two,  the  incongruity  of  an  ape-man  as  an 
image  of  God  appears.  The  two  accounts  are  utterly 
inconsistent  with  each  other.  But,  as  has  been  re- 
marked, its  advocates  admit  that  it  is  an  unproven 
theory,  so  we  may  dismiss  it  from  further  consideration 
here.  The  other  scripture  writers  and  Christ  Himself 
accept  this  account  and  so  may  we  (Matt.  19 :  4-6). 

The  objection  to  the  Bible  account  seems  to  come  from 
grotesque  ideas  of  the  process  and  from  facetious  jests 
founded  upon  it.  There  is  nothing  grotesque  in  the 
story  itself.  The  dust  of  which  man's  body  was  made 
means  all  the  earthy  constituents  of  which  the  human 
form  is  composed,  whether  solid  or  fluid  or  gaseous. 
That  man's  body  is  composed  of  these  all  admit,  as  also 
that  his  moral  and  spiritual  nature  is  from  God,  and 
this  is  the  main  point  in  the  scripture  narrative.  As 
to  the  actual  process  the  psalmist  gives  a  picture. 
Speaking  of  himself,  but  with  evident  reference  to 
man's  original  creation,  he  says,  *'  My  frame  was  not 
hidden  from  thee  when  I  was  made  in  secret,  and  cu- 


The  Creation  69 

riously  wrought  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  earth. 
Thine  eyes  did  see  mine  unperfect  substance  and  in 
Thy  book  were  all  my  members  written  which  day  by 
day  were  fashioned  when  as  yet  there  was  none  of 
them"  (Ps.  139:  15,  16).  The  same  figure  Job  re- 
fers to  when  he  says  in  his  distress,  "  Naked  came  I 
out  of  my  mother's  womb  and  naked  shall  I  return 
thither  "  (Job  i  :  21 ;  10  :  9).  We  ourselves  are  con- 
stantly speaking  of  <' mother  earth"  and  the  womb 
of  earth.  A  body  when  it  dies  passes  through  the 
same  changes  reversed.  The  breath  leaves  it,  it  be- 
comes corrupt  and  finally  disintegrates  and  at  last 
all  that  is  left  is  dust.  Now  reverse  that  process.  Let 
that  dust  reform  and  the  constituent  fluids  and  gases  re- 
turn. Let  breath  enter  in  and  it  is  as  at  first.  It  cer- 
tainly ought  not  to  be  a  repugnant  or  difficult  con- 
ception to  a  believer  in  the  resurrection. 

The  creation  of  man  is  referred  to  three  times  in 
the  first  five  chapters  of  Genesis.  The  scripture 
method  is  to  give  the  outlines  of  an  event  and  then 
return  and  fill  in  the  details.  In  the  second  account 
(Gen.  2)  the  former  account  is  referred  to ;  the  supple- 
mentary facts  are  then  given.  In  the  second  account 
the  general  creation  of  plants  and  animals  is  supposed 
to  be  known.  '<  The  plant  of  the  field  and  the  herb 
of  the  field  "  are  the  domestic  plants  man  has  had,  as 
all  evidence  testifies,  from  the  beginning. 

The  standpoint  of  the  second  account  is  stated  to 
be  at  a  point  between  the  finishing  of  the  six  days' 
work  and  before  the  creation  of  man.     Then  ensues 


70  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

an  account  of  the  creation  of  man  in  detail  and  there 
follows  an  account  of  the  preparation  of  the  garden 
and  the  trees  necessary,  man's  introduction  to  it,  the 
animal  creation  and  the  creation  of  woman.  There 
is  no  difficulty  here.  The  statement  that  no  plant  of 
the  field  was  yet  in  the  earth  and  no  herb  of  the  field 
had  yet  sprung  up  has  no  reference  to  the  whole  vege- 
table kingdom,  but  only  to  the  trees  and  plants  needed 
by  man  which  the  narrative  proceeds  to  relate  God 
made  or  planted  in  the  garden.  So  also  the  narrative 
of  the  creation  of  the  beast  of  the  field  and  the  fowl 
of  the  air.  These  are  the  domestic  creatures  which 
all  history  shows  have  been  with  man  from  the  earliest 
knowledge  we  have  of  him.  To  have  left  man  with 
the  order  of  plants  and  animals  of  the  earth  at  large,  as 
all  the  other  creatures  were,  would  have  been  to  leave 
him  in  a  wild  jungle  or  forest  or  wilderness,  which  was 
the  state  of  the  earth  at  the  close  of  the  sixth  day,  and 
before  the  creation  of  man.  This  is  all  the  narrative 
means  by  the  statement  as  to  the  trees  and  herbs.  The 
garden  with  its  vegetation  and  animals  is  the  subject 
of  the  chapter  and  the  statements  must  not  be  stretched 
further  than  its  own  declared  subject.  The  writer  in 
the  second  narrative  supposes  the  existence  and  knowl- 
edge by  the  reader  of  the  first  narrative  and  cannot 
therefore  be  contradictory  or  erroneous.  It  is  not  a 
recapitulation  of  the  third  day's  work.  That  is  ended 
as  he  expressly  states.  This  is  supplementary^  and 
only  refers  to  the  garden  and  its  use  for  man. 

The   creation  of  woman   came   last   of  all.     The 


The  Creation  71 

origin  of  sex  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  science,  as 
much  so  as  the  Bible  account.  There  are  deep  physi- 
ological mysteries  here  hinted  at  (Gen  i  :  27).  All 
we  can  do  is  to  accept  the  account  as  it  is  given,  a 
supernatural  event  thus  described  in  the  only  language 
we  are  capable  of  hearing.  Other  scripture  accepts 
the  account  (i  Cor.  11:12;  i  Tim.  2:13;  Matt. 
19:  4;  Mark  10  :  6,  7). 

As  Matthew  Henry  quaintly  says,  "Woman  was 
made  of  a  rib  out  of  the  side  of  Adam,  not  out  of  his 
head  to  top  him,  not  out  of  his  feet  to  be  trampled  on 
by  him,  but  out  of  his  side  to  be  equal  with  him,  un- 
der his  arm  to  be  protected,  and  near  his  heart  to  be 
beloved"  (Commentary). 

7.    Agreement  with  Science. 

We  will  sum  up  here  the  points  of  agreement  with 
the  facts  of  science. 

There  are  great  facts  we  need  to  notice  here.  In 
these  there  is  agreement  with  science  as  there  is  in  all 
the  Bible  statements  when  each  is  rightly  read. 

1.  Science  and  the  Bible  tell  us  there  was  a  Be- 
ginning. All  the  operations  of  nature  point  back  to 
a  time  when  all  we  see  had  a  beginning. 

2.  That  beginning  was  creation.  There  is  no 
other  conceivable  origin.      Science  admits  that. 

3.  It  is  also  now  conceded  by  science  that  the 
originating  of  the  universe  by  an  act  of  volition  by 
God  is  perfectly  supposable  aad  indeed  the  only 
origin.     All  forces  are  one.     Light  is  formed  from  heat, 


72  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

and  that  from  chemical  action  in  combustion,  ana 
that  from  electrical  action,  and  that  from  motion,  and 
that  again  from  heat,  and  so  all  forces  are  forms  of 
one  force.  It  is  also  believed  that  all  substances  are 
one,  and  that  a  form  of  energy.  So  all  is  resolved 
into  energy  and  that  is  stated  as  the  product  or  effect  of 
volition.  So  here  science  meets  creation.  God  willed 
and  the  universe  existed,  probably  in  some  primeval 
form  of  substance. 

4.  The  glory  and  immensity  of  the  universe  is 
alike  made  known  to  us  by  the  Bible  and  science. 
There  is  no  grotesque  description  such  as  we  find  in 
the  cosmogony  of  ancient  peoples.  This,  written  so 
long  ago  when  the  world  was  in  darkness  about  the 
great  universe,  contains  no  error  on  this  great  ques- 
tion. 

5 .  Astronomy  tells  us  that  the  solar  system,  which  is 
the  subject,  as  we  have  seen,  of  the  Bible  creation 
account,  is  unique  in  the  heavens.  It  is  far  away 
from  other  worlds  and  in  a  region  where  stars  are 
scarce.  If  we  represent  the  sun  and  planets  by  a 
farmer  and  his  eight  sons  living  within  a  mile  of  each 
other,  and  the  nearest  neighbor  five  thousand  miles 
away,  we  have  the  relative  distance  of  the  solar  system 
from  other  worlds.  Again,  its  orbit  is  unique.  No 
other  is  so  circular  and  regular  as  ours.  And  further, 
we  see  no  other  worlds  whose  state  is  that  which  is  fit 
for  organic  life.  So  that  altogether  it  looks  like  the 
subject  of  a  special  operation ;  not  that  it  was  created 
at  any  different  time  or  by  any  different  process,  but 


The  Creation  73 

that  it  was  the  subject  of  special  care  and  for  special 
use. 

6.  As  to  the  whole  creative  order  and  history,  Dr. 
Murphy  states  its  evidence  as  follows:  ''The  eleva- 
tion of  extensive  tracts  of  land,  the  subsidence  of  the 
overlying  waters  into  comparative  hollows,  the  clari- 
fying of  the  atmosphere,  the  creation  of  a  fresh  supply 
of  plants  and  animals  on  the  newly  formed  continent, 
compose  a  series  of  changes  which  meet  the  geologist 
again  and  again,  as  he  penetrates  into  the  bowels  of 
the  earth"  (Commentary  on  Genesis). 

7.  Geology  tells  us,  as  we  have  seen,  of  conditions 
on  earth  which  agree  with  the  statement  of  its  state 
before  the  six  days'  work  began;  and  it  tells  that  the  age 
after  the  coming  of  man  was  a  warm  one,  that  verdure 
reached  the  poles  and  that  tropical  animals  lived  there. 
This  agrees  with  the  Bible  account  of  man's  being  able 
to  live  in  nakedness  and  the  climate  necessary  for 
that. 

8.  The  order  in  which  the  creation  came  is  the  order 
that  science  tells  us  is  the  right  one ;  the  elements  before 
life,  the  botanical  order  of  plants,  the  scientific  classifi- 
cation of  animals  and,  last  of  all,  man. 

9.  Our  order  is  new  and  late  and  far  in  advance 
of  all  before.  So  says  science.  It  was  ''all  very 
good,"  the  Bible  tells  also. 

10.  Man  came  in  last,  both  the  Bible  and  science 
tell  us.  He  appears  as  the  climax  of  creation.  No 
new  creations  have  come  in  since,  both  the  Bible  and 
science  agree  in  saying. 


74  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

1 1 .  There  is  an  unbridged  gulf  between  man  and 
the  brule.  His  language,  his  faculties,  and  especially 
his  spiritual  nature  form  impassable  barriers. 

12.  Tradition  and  history  agree  with  the  Bible  as  to 
the  centre  from  which  man  diverged;  they  also  affirm  that 
the  noblest  races  are  nearest  that  centre,  retrograding 
as  they  recede ;  that  the  cereals  also  came  from  that 
centre,  and  that  it  is  the  centre  of  the  habitable  earth. 
The  name  of  the  first  man,  as  given  on  the  Assyrian 
monuments,  is  Adafftu. 

13.  The  time  of  man's  appearance  is  coming  nearer 
in  the  calculations  of  scientists  to  that  given  in  the  Bible. 
The  vast  periods  of  antiquity  for  man's  history  are 
being  abandoned.  Geology  and  archaeology  are  com- 
bining to  give  shorter  periods.  The  Egyptian  chronol- 
ogy has  been  reduced  from  over  five  thousand  years  to 
half  of  that  time,  and  that  of  China  and  India  in  like 
manner. 

Dr.  Cunningham  Geike  sifts  all  the  evidence  for 
these  extreme  dates  for  the  origin  of  man  obtained  from 
deposits,  remains,  implements,  changes  of  climate,  geo- 
logic evidence,  monuments,  data  of  ancient  peoples 
and  civilizations  and  the  rise  of  races  of  man,  and 
finds  it  wanting  in  proof  of  any  great  antiquity. 
(Hours  with  the  Bible,  ch.  IX.  X.  B.). 

Prof.  George  Frederick  Wright  tells  us,  "  The 
glacial  period  did  not  close  more  than  ten  thousand 
years  ago.  This  shortening  of  our  conceptions  of  the 
ice  age  renders  glacial  man  a  comparatively  modern 
creature"  (Homiletic  Review,  May,  1900). 


The  Creation  j5 

The  length  of  the  Six  Days  is  a  subject  of  interest. 
The  view  that  these  were  long  geologic  ages  is  unneces- 
sary in  the  interpretation  here  given.  No  long  age 
would  be  necessary  for  the  incoming  of  light  or  for 
the  clearing  of  the  atmosphere  or  the  elevation  of  a 
portion  of  the  earth's  surface  or  even  the  sprouting  of 
that  primeval  vegetation.  I'he  coming  of  species  after 
the  cosmical  changes  of  the  Fourth  Day  seems  to  call 
for  longer  time,  but  on  the  whole  we  need  not  suppose 
extreme  periods  called  for.  On  the  other  hand  we 
should  not  interpret  these  days  to  be  our  short  days 
of  twenty-four  hours.  The  earth's  revolutions  have 
been  changed  since  its  creation,  and  we  have  evidence 
of  some  changes  in  the  course  of  the  Six  Days'  crea- 
tion that  we  have  been  studying,  so  that,  while  they  were 
not  long  ages,  they  were  not  days  as  measured  by  our 
clocks. 

8.     The  Spiritual  Lessons  of  Creation. 
Creation  contains  the  germs  of  all  spiritual  truth. 
It  is  important  to  study  these  in  connection  with  the 
narrative  itself. 

1.  We  learn  that  life  can  come  only  from  God. 
Science  has  acknowledged  that  no  such  thing  as  life 
without  preexisting  life  is  known.  Not  the  smallest 
seed  or  germ  has  ever  been  originated  by  man  or  has 
ever  come  spontaneously  into  existence,  to  man's 
knowledge.  So  in  the  spiritual  world  there  is  no 
spiritual  life  except  as  it  is  from  God. 

2.  Creation  in  the  scriptures  is  a  type  and  repre- 


76  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

sentation  of  regeneration.  **  If  any  man  is  in  Christ 
he  is  a  new  creature,"  (marg.  there  is  a  new  creation). 
(2  Cor.  5  :  17).  "We  are  His  workmanship  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  for  good  works  "  (Eph.  2  :  10).  ''Put 
on  the  new  man  which  after  God  hath  been  created  in 
righteousness  and  hoHness  of  truth "  (Eph.  4:  24). 
*<  The  new  man  which  is  being  renewed  unto  knowledge 
after  the  image  of  Him  that  created  him  "  (Col.  3  :  10). 
So  that  we  may  look  for  light  both  upon  creation  and 
upon  regeneration  from  this  resemblance.  First  we 
see  that  the  state  of  the  earth  typifies  the  state  of  man 
before  regeneration.  The  earth  was  ''  waste  and  void. " 
The  sinner  in  the  Bible  is  declared  lost,  sick,  dead, 
without  hope.  What  he  needs  is  a  new  creation. 
Except  a  man  be  born  again,  from  above,  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Even  if  there  were  some  forms  or  germs  of  life  in  that 
old  world  before  creation,  they  had  reached  their 
limit  of  development.  It  was  a  dying  world  into 
which  God  introduced  that  new  creation,  for  it  was  a 
new  creation,  as  all  science  tells  us,  utterly  unlike  the 
monstrous  creatures  which  went  before  it. 

3.  The  work  of  the  separate  persons  of  the  Trinity 
is  seen  in  regeneration  as  in  creation.  God  the  Father 
gives  a  people  to  Christ,  Christ  redeems  them,  the 
Holy  Spirit  gives  them  life  and  perfects  all  beauty  and 
fruitfulness  in  them. 

4.  The  process  of  this  regenerating  work  is  illus- 
trated in  the  Six  Days'  Creation.  The  earth  was  in 
darkness.     So  is  the  sinner.     He  does  not  see  his 


The  Creation  77 

own  state  or  need.  Into  this  darkness  God  by  the 
gospel  sends  light.  In  the  Second  Day's  work  the 
atmosphere  typifies  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
breathing  life ;  and  in  the  Third,  the  separating  of  land 
and  water,  the  new  sphere  of  that  new  life.  In  the 
Fourth  Day  the  appearance  of  the  celestial  bodies  in- 
dicates the  heavenly  lights  by  which  man  now  walks, 
and  in  the  work  of  the  further  days  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  full-grown  man  in  the  image  of  Christ 
are  typified. 

5.  In  creation  man  received  two  great  gifts,  mar- 
riage and  the  Sabbath.  These  are  the  foundations 
respectively  of  the  state  and  the  church.  On  these 
all  rest.  The  Sabbath  thus  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
human  history.  It  was  not  first  given  in  the  law  to 
Moses.     It  was  then  only  reestablished  for  Israel. 

9.  The  New  Creation. 
A  New  Creation  is  prophesied  in  scripture.  We 
may  learn  what  it  will  be  from  the  one  we  are  now 
studying.  It,  too,  is  to  come  on  an  earth  in  ruins,  it  is 
to  be  by  divine  interference  and  is  to  lead  to  a  better 
state  as  that  creation  was  better  than  the  one  before. 
The  scriptures  which  speak  of  it  are  Isa.  65:  17; 
66  :  22 ;   2  Pet.  3:13;  Rev.  21  :  i. 


CHAPTER  IV 

EDEN  AND  THE  FALL 

Genesis  2,  3. 

The  account  of  man's  origin,  state  and  fall,  lies  at  the 
basis  of  all  true  history,  science,  philosophy,  theology 
and  Christian  experience.  The  Bible  teachings  can- 
not be  mastered  until  this  with  its  great  principles  are 
understood.  An  outline  is  given  following  this  for 
closer  study. 

The  truth  of  the  narrative  is  certified  to  by  Christ 
and  the  writers  of  scripture.  There  is  not  the  slight- 
est intimation  given  of  other  views  of  it.  All  the 
traditions  of  mankind  also  point  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. Man's  happy  state  is  one  of  the  memories 
of  mankind.  The  tree  of  life  was  widely  known 
among  Hindus,  Persians,  Arabs,  Greeks  and  Assyrians. 
The  Fall  is  also  universally  known.  The  features 
given  in  the  Bible  account,  the  woman,  the  tree  and 
the  serpent,  are  grouped  together  among  many  peoples. 
As  Dr.  Geike  says,  "  It  finds  an  echo  in  every  religion 
of  the  world."  The  Fall  is  pictured  on  the  monu- 
ments of  Assyria. 

The  sacred  books  of  India  give  the  account  of  the 
Fall.  The  first  man  is  called  Adima.  The  first 
woman  Heva.  They  were  tempted  to  evil  also,  but 
Adima  tempted  Heva. 

78 


Eden  and  the  Fall  79 

The  remains  left  by  the  cave-men  and  other  prehis- 
toric races  tell  of  just  such  a  state  as  man  would  be 
in  after  his  expulsion  from  the  garden,  without 
weapons,  tools,  houses,  and  with  only  a  scant  covering 
of  skins.  Geology  tells  of  an  age,  about  that  time, 
when  the  earth's  climate  would  permit  the  state  of 
nakedness  related.  In  short  the  Bible  account  agrees 
with  all  the  facts. 

The  account  of  the  Fall  is  often  quoted  in  subsequent 
scripture  and  by  New  Testament  writers.  Christ 
himself  quotes  it  (Matt.  19:4,  5  ;  Mark  10 :  6,  7), 
and  all  without  any  intimation  that  it  was  other  than 
true.  Paul  bases  the  doctrine  of  sin  and  death  and 
redemption  upon  it  (Rom.  5:12-21).  Many  cita- 
tions will  be  given  in  the  oudine  of  study.  The  study 
of  this  narrative  requires  that  we  examine  the  follow- 
ing points:  i.  Man  and  Eden.  2.  The  Probation. 
3.  The  Tempter.  4.  The  Temptation.  5.  The  Sin. 
6.  The  Judgment.  7.  Consequences  of  the  Fall. 
8.  Redemption.     9.  Spiritual  Teachings. 

I.     Eden  and  Original  Man. 

Eden  is  often  spoken  of  in  scripture.  It  is  also 
accepted  as  a  definite  geographical  location  (Gen. 
13  :  10 ;  Isa.  51:3;  Ezek.  28  :  13  ;  Joel  2  :  3). 

The  location  of  Eden  is  given  at  that  point  at  which 
man  is  universally  believed  to  have  originated.  It  is 
at  the  centre  of  the  habitable  earth,  the  best  point  for 
distribution  over  the  world.  It  is  where  the  race  is 
found  at  its  greatest  perfection  and  where  the  tradi- 


8o  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

tions  of  man  all  agree  was  his  original  home.  The 
changes  of  time  have  made  the  identification  of  the 
exact  place  uncertain. 

It  was  in  a  garden  which  was  in  the  general  district 
called  Eden.  The  names  of  two  of  the  rivers  remain 
to  the  present  time  so  that  we  know  the  general  but 
not  the  particular  site.  It  was  a  prepared  place  for 
the  new  race.  The  account  in  the  second  chapter 
tells  of  a  special  creation  for  this  garden  with  special 
plants  and  trees.  And  the  testimony  of  all  time  is  that 
man  has  had  these  common  plants  from  his  earliest 
history. 

The  state  of  primeval  man  is  attested  as  equal  to 
the  best  of  modern  civilization  physically  and  es- 
pecially in  dimensions  of  the  brain.  The  remains  of 
the  prehistoric  man  are  equal  to  the  best  of  modern 
man  in  brain  capacity.  Nor  is  there  any  time  or 
space  for  the  theoretical  history  of  Evolution  from  the 
brute.  The  facts  so  far  agree  with  the  Bible  ac- 
count. 

Adam,  in  the  Bible  account,  is  described  as  perfect, 
but  not  perfected.  He  was  of  capable  mind,  but  not 
of  experienced  nature.  He  was  in  the  image  of  God 
and  that  implies  spiritual,  mental  and  physical  per- 
fection. He  enjoyed  the  frequent  presence  of  Jehovah, 
who  walked  in  the  garden,  sometimes  at  the  cool  of  the 
day,  as  we  are  told,  and  called  Adam  to  personal 
fellowship  with  Him.  We  must  not  think  that  this  was 
God  the  Father.  It  was  Jehovah,  the  second  person 
of  the  Trinity,  who  often  so  manifested  Himself  to 


Eden  and  the  Fall  8l 

man  afterwards.      Adam  was  then  under  the  personal 
care  and  teaching  of  Jehovah. 

2.     The  Probation. 

We  must  distinguish  between  probation  and  tempta- 
tion. Adam  was  submitted  to  probation,  but  this  did 
not  necessarily  involve  temptation.  God  does  not 
tempt  man  (Jas.  i  :  12-15),  but  He  does  submit  him 
to  trial  and  to  proving  (Deut.  8:2,  3). 

The  necessity  for  the  presence  of  evil  and  tempta- 
tion we  cannot  wholly  solve.  The  origin  of  evil  is  the 
darkest  and  deepest  problem  which  comes  to  us  in 
this  life.  We  may,  however,  see  some  light  upon  it 
here.  The  highest  character  is  that  which  comes 
from  choice  and  especially  at  the  cost  of  struggle  and 
after  heroic  victory.  This  would  not  be  possible 
unless  there  was  an  alternative  choice.  To  give  free 
agency,  the  requirement  of  the  highest  moral  beings, 
and  not  to  give  any  choice  would  be  farcical.  The 
choice  was  the  simplest  possible.  Less  suggestion  of 
temptation  could  scarcely  be  presented,  a  garden  full 
of  trees  and  only  one  prohibited,  with  the  Tree  of 
Life  ever  present  giving  full  protection  against  sin. 
Compare  this  with  the  law  afterwards  and  its  hun- 
dreds of  commandments  and  rites.  Then  their  state 
was  the  freest  from  incitement  to  evil.  Nor  have  we 
reason  to  think  that  the  tempter  had  such  power  as  since. 
There  was  no  pressure  of  need  and  want  to  make  the 
taking  appear  necessary. 

The  test  man  was  submitted  to  was  just  such  a  test 


82  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

as  was  best  suited  to  his  infantile  being.  It  was  such  a 
test  as  we  sometimes  submit  a  child  to.  There  is  noth- 
ing puerile  about  it  when  looked  at  from  that  standpoint. 
Adam  was  a  perfect  man  but  needed  discipline.  This 
involves  trial  and  effort  against  wrong  and  for  right. 
There  is  no  perfected  created  character  without  this. 
The  presence  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge  awoke  in  him 
the  sense  of  obligation  and  obedience  and  raised  up  a 
standard  of  right  and  wrong  and  affirmed  the  right  of 
Jehovah  to  command.  The  Tree  of  Life  was  sacramen- 
tal. It  was  to  Adam  what  the  Lord's  supper  is  to  us. 
These  two  trees  represented  all  the  gospel  does  to  us. 
The  Tree  of  Knowledge  stood  for  sin  and  the  turning 
from  it  for  repentance.  The  Tree  of  Life  represented 
Christ  in  the  gospel  and  the  eating  of  it  faith  in  Christ. 
So  Adam's  gospel  was  the  same  as  ours.  There  is  not, 
nor  ever  has  been,  any  other  gospel. 

Adam  was  left  free  to  act.  He  could  not  have 
been  otherwise  and  been  in  the  likeness  of  God  or  a 
creature  worthy  of  God's  purposes.  If  unable  to 
choose  wrong  or  right  he  would  have  been  but  an 
animal.  It  was  this  very  liberty  which  made  him  a 
man.  It  is  the  right  use  of  it  which  makes  a  saint  and 
the  wrong  use,  a  devil. 

It  is  probable  that  Adam  would  have  been  lifted 
out  of  the  state  of  probation,  if  he  had  kept  himself 
from  sin,  into  a  higher  state,  perhaps  by  translation  as 
Enoch.  The  life  of  a  thousand  years,  of  which  all 
afterwards  fell  short,  seems  to  fix  that  as  man's 
given  term  at  first.     The  medical  men  tell  us  that 


Eden  and  the  Fall  83 

there  is  no  reason  why  man  should  not  now  live  one 
thousand  years  if  his  organs  were  in  a  perfect  state, 
and  he  were  in  a  suitable  environment. 

How  long  Adam  lived  in  Eden  we  do  not  know. 
His  third  son,  Seth,  was  born  135  years  after  Adam's 
creation  and  Cain,  and  no  doubt  Abel,  were  grown  to 
manhood  before  Seth  was  born,  so  there  is  room  for 
considerable  time  in  Eden.  His  life  was  a  happy  one, 
we  know.  He  had  occupation  without  toil  and  the 
rural  life  which  to-day  is  man's  ideal  life. 

3.     The  Tempter. 

The  tempter  must  be  distinguished  from  the 
creature  used  by  him  as  an  agent.  Satan  does  not 
reveal  himself  directly  to  man.  Here  he  uses  a  beast 
of  the  field,  that  is  a  wild  animal  as  distinguished  from 
a  domesticated  animal.  That  it  was  not  the  serpent 
as  we  know  it  is  evident.  It  was  **  more  subtle  than 
any  beast  of  the  field."  The  serpent  is  not  specially 
subtle.  That  it  could  speak  and  evoked  no  surprise 
or  alarm  in  Eve  tells  us  that  it  was  some  creature  we 
do  not  now  have.  It  was  something  superior  to  any 
animal  now  existing.  It  was  not  in  serpent  form,  for 
that  was  its  after  form  given  as  a  penalty.  It  prob- 
ably was  in  human  or  semi-human  form,  perhaps  a 
beautiful  creature. 

It  is  significant  that  while  this  is  the  same  word  for 
serpent  as  that  used  for  those  that  attacked  Israel  in 
the  wilderness,  the  form  that  Moses  raised  on  the  pole 
was  a  <'saraph,"  meaning  burning  or  shining,  from 


84  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

which  we  get  seraphim.     There  may  be  reference  here 
to  the  original  form  of  the  serpent. 

It  was  Satan,  however,  which  animated  it.  Upon 
this  point  scripture  is  clear.  Satan  began  this  evil  work 
with  man  which  has  lasted  so  long  and  ruinously.  He 
himself  had  fallen  from  his  created  state,  we  think 
scripture  teaches.  He  may  have  been  led  by  jealousy 
towards  the  new  being  which  was  to  take  a  place  so 
superior  to  his  own,  and  hoped  by  conquering  him  to 
use  him  for  his  own  advancement  or  power. 

4.     The  Temptation. 

It  began  with  a  spiritual  temptation.  ''  Hath  God 
said  ye  shall  not  eat  of  any  tree  of  the  garden  ?  "  This 
was  a  doubt  suggested  as  to  God's  goodness.  It  was 
and  is  the  most  subtle  form  of  temptation.  Few  dis- 
believe in  God's  existence.  Many  doubt  His  good- 
ness or  kindness.  This  is  the  beginning  of  nearly  all 
unbelief.  Here  comes  in  the  failure  in  prayer.  Satan 
would  rather  have  one  doubt  God's  goodness  than  His 
existence.  The  latter  would  simply  produce  indiffer- 
ence; the  former  would  create  hatred,  and  that  is 
Satan's  state. 

After  insinuating  doubt  of  God's  mercy,  he  comes 
with  insinuation  of  doubt  of  God's  justice.  ''Ye  shall 
not  surely  die."  Thus  all  forms  of  present  day  false 
religion  are  along  the  line  of  liberalism  or  the  doubt 
of  the  penalty  of  sin  or  any  particular  danger  in  the 
next  world. 

When  these  two  great  barriers  are  broken  down,  then 


Eden  and  the  Fall  8^ 

the  way  is  open  for  false  belief.  After  distrust  in  God 
and  disbelief  in  the  warnings  as  to  sin,  come  the  false 
belief  and  religion,  and  these  precede  the  actual  sin. 
It  is  a  common  saying  to-day  that  it  makes  no  differ- 
ence what  one's  belief  is,  if  he  be  sincere.  This  is 
nonsense.  Intelligence  consists  in  acting  according  to 
belief.  Animals  act  from  instinct;  idiots  from  im- 
pulse; rational  beings  from  belief.  Therefore  the 
belief  must  be  changed  with  such  in  order  to  change 
the  conduct.  The  actual  temptation  does  not 
follow  until  these  steps  have  been  established. 
These  were  the  fatal  steps  leading  to  the  actual 
temptation. 

The  sin  of  taking  the  fruit  seems  a  small  matter  to 
be  made  so  much  of  in  the  Bible.  The  gravity  of  a 
spiritual  act  does  not  depend  on  the  importance  of  the 
material  thing  which  leads  to  it.  The  taking  of  a 
pin  might  involve  the  unpardonable  sin  as  truly  as  the 
taking  of  a  life.  The  tearing  down  of  a  piece  of 
bunting  may  constitute  treason  as  truly  as  the  sur- 
render of  a  fleet,  indeed  it  may  be  that  very  thing. 
The  act  of  taking  and  eating  the  fruit  involved  the 
question  of  belief  in  God's  character,  in  His  veracity, 
in  the  superiority  of  Satan  to  God.  It  affected  the 
very  position  of  God  as  supreme,  for  if  He  was  not 
good  and  not  true  He  could  not  be  God. 

We  must  distinguish  also  between  the  subjective 
temptation  and  the  objective.  The  former  leads  to 
the  state  of  heart  which  makes  the  latter  possible.  If 
the  distrusting  state  existed,  it  was  a  secondary  matter 


86  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

how  it  manifested  itself,  whether  in  eating  the  fruit  or 
some  gross  crime. 

Satan  leaves  the  doubt  to  do  its  work.  He  does 
not  give  Eve  the  fruit.  He  lets  the  subjective  tempta- 
tion produce  its  objective  result.  He  plants  the  seed 
and  awaits  its  development. 

"  And  when  she  saw  the  tree  was  good  for  food  and 
that  it  was  a  delight  to  the  eyes,  and  that  the  tree  was 
to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the  fruit 
thereof  and  did  eat."  Here  was  presented  the  three- 
fold temptation,  "the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the 
eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life  "  (i  John  2:16).  It  was 
an  appeal  to  man's  threefold  nature,  body,  soul  and 
spirit  (i  Thess.  5 :  23).  It  was  the  same  threefold 
temptation  presented  to  Christ  (Luke  4:  1-13).  It 
was  a  physical  and  spiritual  temptation.  The  same 
forces  of  temptation  are  still  presented  to  man  (2  Peter 
2  :  18  ;  Rom.  i  :  22-31). 

5.  The  Sin. 
There  is  evidence  of  preparation  in  Eve,  and  doubt- 
less in  Adam,  for  the  temptation.  Satan  chooses  such 
times  and  states  (Luke  8  :  12).  Their  ready  belief  in 
Satan's  insinuations,  their  acceptance  of  his  state- 
ments, their  quick  fall  into  his  suggestion,  all  point  to 
a  previous  preparedness  for  such  sin.  Eve's  words 
in  reply  to  Satan  also  point  to  unbelief  and  discon- 
tent. ''  Neither  shall  ye  touch  it  lest  ye  die."  Here 
is  an  addition  to  God's  command  that  He  did  not  give, 
"neither  shall  ye  touch  it,"  and  a  weakening  of  his 


Eden  and  the  Fall  87 

positive  threat  of  "ye  shall  surely  die  "  into  "  lest  ye 
die."  These  show  first  discontent  with  their  state. 
This  is  generally  the  beginning  of  unbelief  and  sin. 
It  is  entirely  possible  in  the  most  perfect  conditions. 
Those  who  have  most  are  often  the  most  discontented. 
It  was  to  this  that  Satan  appealed  when  he  said,  ''  Hath 
God  said  ye  shall  not  eat  of  any  tree  of  the  garden  ?  " 
A  latent  unbelief  also  was  there  not  yet  expressed  in 
thoughts,  but  which  Satan  appealed  to  when  he  said, 
"Ye  shall  not  surely  die."  This  state  arises  from 
their  neglect  to  eat  of  the  Tree  of  Life  (Gen.  3  :  22). 

From  preoccupation,  or  greater  attractions,  or 
neglect,  or  forgetfulness,  or  procrastination,  or  any  of 
the  many  reasons  which  still  cause  man  to  neglect, 
they  did  not  eat  of  the  Tree  of  Life.  So  to-day  the 
reason  temptation  overcomes  is  for  want  of  the  strength 
and  fulness  that  the  Holy  Spirit  gives,  and  this  for 
want  of  the  union  with  and  communion  with  Christ. 

Another  and  incidental  weakness  was  that  Eve  was 
near  that  Tree.  Prudence  would  have  said.  Keep  far 
from  it.  She  seems  to  have  been  alone  also,  and 
solitude  has  its  peculiar  dangers. 

The  threefold  temptation  tells  of  a  threefold  sin. 
The  sin  was  first  spiritual,  as  shown,  then  psychical, 
then  physical.  Unbelief  in  God's  goodness,  accept- 
ance of  a  false  religion,  and  then  the  physical  sin 
which  follows  (Rom.  i  :  22-31).  Israel  first  gave  up 
belief  in  Moses  and  God,  then  made  the  golden  calf, 
then  fell  into  licentiousness  (Ex.  32  :  1-6). 

There  is  more  in  the  Fall  than  we  see  on  the  sur- 


88  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

face.  It  is  more  than  one  simple  act  of  disobedience. 
The  sin  was  more  than  that.  Their  shame  afterwards 
was  sexual  shame  and  this  points  to  sexual  sin.  We 
may  not  here  enter  into  this,  but  the  whole  account 
points  to  an  orgie  of  sensuality. 

6.     The  Judgment. 

The  examination  first  traces  the  sin  to  its  source 
and  the  judgment  begins  there.  The  serpent,  that  is 
the  animal  used  as  the  tempter,  is  first  judged. 
Whatever  that  creature  was  it  is  remanded  to  a  de- 
graded state  where  it  will  have  no  more  power  to 
tempt  or  be  used  as  a  means  of  temptation.  There  is 
to  be  enmity  henceforth  between  Satan  and  the 
woman  and  his  seed  and  hers.  This  reveals  the  pur- 
pose of  Satan's  attack  to  affiliate  himself  and  his  seed 
with  mankind  in  alliance  or  amalgamation.  Jehovah 
foils  it  by  drawing  a  distinct  line  declaring  the  two 
irreconcilable  sides.  There  have  been  the  two  ever 
since,  Christ's  and  Satan's.  No  reconciliation  is  pos- 
sible between  these  to  the  end.  There  is  to  be,  on  the 
contrary,  antagonism.  The  serpent  is  to  have  the 
power  to  persecute  and  impede  the  progress  of  the 
church,  the  serpent  is  to  be  at  last  crushed  in  its  head, 
that  is  in  Satan.  The  seed  of  the  woman  can  be  no 
other  than  Christ,  including  that  larger  view  seen  in 
its  climax  in  the  Apocalypse. 

This  antagonism  is  seen  all  down  the  line.  First 
between  Cain  and  Abel,  then  between  the  race  of 
Cain  and  that  of  Seth,  between  Isaac  and  Ishmael, 


Eden  and  the  Fall  89 

Jacob  and  Esau,  Israel  and  the  surrounding  nations, 
all  of  whom  were  enemies,  between  the  righteous  and 
ungodly  in  the  Psalms,  which  is  the  great  theme  of 
the  Psalms.  This  enmity  was  shown  towards  Christ 
and  exists,  as  He  foretold,  between  the  world  and  the 
believer.  It  is  seen  in  the  conflict  in  heaven  between 
Satan  and  the  angels  (Rev.  12)  and  will  at  last 
manifest  itself  in  open  conflict  between  Satan  and 
Christ  (Rev.  19).  Only  then  will  the  serpent 
be  crushed  finally.  Christ  and  John  call  the  evil  ones 
''  Ofl'spring  of  vipers  "  three  times  (Matt.  3 :  7  ;  1 2  :  34 ; 
and  23  :  ^s).  They  have  the  race  of  the  Old  Serpent 
in  mind. 

We  are  struck  by  the  lightness  of  the  doom  on  Eve 
and  Adam.  Subjection  and  increase  of  the  pain  of 
childbirth  for  her  and  labor  for  Adam  seem  not  a 
full  measure  of  the  threatened  death.  Dr.  Patrick 
says,  ''  Lest  Eve's  fault  should  occasion  a  breach  be- 
tween them,  God  kindly  makes  this  gracious  promise 
of  a  Redeemer  to  depend  upon  Adam's  union  with 
his  wife." 

Expulsion  follows.  Eden  is  lost  and  closed  against 
them  forever.  They  go  out  in  disgrace,  in  sorrow,  in 
sin,  to  make  their  way  without  Eden's  protection  and 
blessings,  and,  worst  of  all,  without  Jehovah's  pres- 
ence and  fellowship. 

7.     Consequences  of  the  Fall. 
To  this  event  the  Bible  traces  all  the  stream  of  sin 
and    misery    which    has    followed   mankind.      The 


90  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

spiritual  contamination  of  man,  the  sorrows,  the 
sicknesses  and  death  which  follow  him,  all  are  charged 
to  that  Fall.  **  Through  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world — and  death  through  sin — and  so  death  passed 
unto  all  men  for  that  all  sinned"  (Rom.  5:  12). 
All  other  scripture  agrees  with  this.  Man  is  in  a 
fallen  state  in  sin  (Eph.  2  :  1-3 ;  Rom.  3 :  9-18). 
The  world  is  in  the  power  of  the  evil  one  (2  Cor. 
4:4;  Heb.  2:14;  I  John  5:19).  Creation  is 
fallen  also  (Rom.  8  :  20-22). 

This  is  the  testimony  of  observation  and  history  and 
experience.  We  see  that  man  is  in  anything  but  an 
ideal  state,  that  this  was  not  his  original  state  all  tra- 
dition attests,  and  our  consciousness  seems  to  affirm. 
That  some  evil  influence  affects  mankind  is  only  too 
true.  Nature  suffers  with  us.  Its  creatures  suffer 
and  die  as  we  do.  Its  tones  are  in  the  minor  key  as 
if  they  would  confirm  this  truth.  There  is  a  pathos 
and  undertone  of  sadness  in  human  life  which  point 
to  some  sad  disturbance  and  tell  us  that  all  is  radically 
wrong.  Death,  which  until  that  time  had  sway  only 
over  the  animals,  was  extended  to  man  also.  The 
medical  men  tell  us  that  death  is  not  necessary,  judged 
by  our  organs  and  faculties,  if  in  a  perfect  state.  The 
separation  of  man  from  God  is  attested  by  his  efforts 
to  find  God,  his  wanderings  in  these  efforts  and  his 
sad  perversions  of  God  as  he  pictures  Him  in  his  idols 
and  false  worship.  All  the  state  declared  by  the 
Bible  as  to  man's  condition  after  the  Fall  is  true. 

The    Fall    still    continues.     Man    is   still   falling. 


Eden  and  the  Fall  91 

Savage  nations  are  not  nations  in  a  state  of  progress, 
but  of  decay.  All  the  nations  are  falling  save  as  they 
are  being  lifted  by  Christianity  or  its  precursor,  the 
religion  of  Israel.  All  the  great  nations  of  antiquity 
have  fallen,  the  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  Grecian  and 
Roman.  The  present  unchristian  peoples  have  fallen 
and  are  still  falling,  as  the  Chinese  and  the  Hindus. 
Those  nations  which  have  Christianity  in  a  perverted 
form  are  the  ''dying  nations,"  as  they  have  been 
characterized.  Only  the  Tree  of  Life  will  keep  from 
falling  a  nation  or  individual. 

8.     Redemption. 

Redemption  follows.  "  Where  sin  abounded,  grace 
did  much  more  abound."  Grace  was  on  the  ground 
before  sin.  God  in  the  creation  chapter  is  named 
Elohim,  the  godhead ;  in  the  account  where  man  ap- 
pears He  is  named  Jehovah.  Whatever  the  views 
may  be  as  to  the  composition  of  the  record,  this  is  a 
nearer  view  of  God  than  that  in  material  creation.  It  is, 
in  short,  the  Old  Testament  name  for  Christ,  the  second 
person  of  the  godhead.  This  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
all  manifestations  of  God  are  those  of  Jehovah,  and 
not  of  God  the  Father,  "whom  no  man  hath  seen  or 
can  see  "  (i  Tim.  6  :  16).  Christ  identifies  Himself 
with  Jehovah  (John  12  :  41  ;  Isa.  6:1;  Matt.  11  :  10; 
Mai.  3:1). 

It  was  Christ,  then,  who  called  the  guilty  couple  and 
adjudicated  their  sin.  Here  we  can  see  why  the 
penalty  threatened  was  not  visited  upon  them.     It  was 


92  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

said,  '*  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die."  They  did  not  die  that  day  nor  for  long  after, 
nor  did  they  die  spiritually  at  all,  for  Adam  is  a  son 
of  God  (Luke  3 :  38),  and  sons  of  God  are  not 
spiritually  dead  nor  do  they  perish  spiritually.  Here, 
then,  came  in  the  saving  work  of  Christ.  He 
stretched  over  that  guilty  couple  His  redemption.  The 
coats  of  skins  were  taken  from  animals  slain  and  with 
these  they  were  covered.  This,  if  not  actual  sacrifice, 
contains  the  very  element  of  sacrifice,  one  giving  his 
life  for  another  to  cover  that  one's  shame  and  sin. 
This  was  the  initiation  of  sacrifice.  It  pointed  to 
a  Christ  to  come ;  they  were  saved  by  Christ  in  His 
mediatorial  work  as  truly  as  we  are. 

♦  9.     Spiritual  Teachings. 

Typically  Adam  is  a  representative  of  Christ 
(i  Cor.  15  :  22,  45).  Christ  is  the  representative  of 
the  race.  He  is  held  accountable  as  Adam  was. 
His  work  passed  out  over  the  race  as  Adam's  did 
(Rom.  5  :  14-19).  Adam  brought  death,  Christ 
brought  life.  Where  Adam  failed,  Christ  stood  fast 
and  resisted  temptation.  By  one  sin  Adam  brought 
death ;  by  one  act  of  righteousness,  His  death,  Christ 
brought  life. 

Eve  is  a  type  of  the  church.  It  was  from  Adam's 
side  she  was  taken  (Eph.  5  :  28-32).  Adam  fell  with 
her.  So  Christ  is  incarnated  and  died  for  us  and  we 
with  Him.  It  is  probable  that  Adam  had  revealed  to 
him  much  spiritual  truth,  for  man  began  with  such 


Eden  and  the  Fall  93 

truth.  The  early  nations  all  had  purer  truth  than  the 
later  ones. 

Satan  is  a  subject  of  study  from  this  lesson.  He 
is  a  subject  of  much  scripture  teaching.  There  is  an 
individual  called  Satan,  the  devil,  and  he  has  subor- 
dinate assistants.  There  is  a  great  realm  of  darkness 
in  constant  conflict  with  all  that  is  good  in  heaven 
and  in  earth  (Dan.  10:13,  20;  Rev.  12;  Eph. 
6:12;    Job    1:2;    Luke    10:18,    19;    Jas.    4:7; 

1  Pet.  5  :  8 ;  2  Tim.  2:26).  The  war  begun  in  Eden 
goes  on.  The  temptation  of  man  continues.  The 
serpent  bruises  the  heel  of  all  in  heavenly  progress. 
His  head  will  be  finally  crushed  (Rev.  20 :  1-3,  10). 
The  sad  consequences  of  the  Fall  are  to  be  destroyed 
(Rev.  21:4,  5).  Eden  is  to  be  restored.  Paradise 
is  the  name  of  the  abode  of  God's  people  (Luke  23  :  43 ; 

2  Cor.  12:4;  Rev.  2  :  7), 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  DELUGE 
Genesis  6-8. 

I.     The  Story  of  Adam's  Family. 

What  was  their  life  after  their  expulsion  from 
Eden  ?  We  are  not  without  some  knowledge.  They 
were  naked,  save  as  clothed  with  the  skins  of  the 
animals,  probably  lambs,  slain  for  them.  They  must 
seek  shelter,  must  find  their  food,  must  struggle  with 
the  creatures  for  it.  Naked-handed,  they  soon  could 
sink  to  the  level  of  savages.  The  Bible  tells  of  the 
beginnings  of  the  use  of  metals,  musical  instruments 
and  domestic  cattle ;  before  which  they  were,  with- 
out these,  dependent  on  clubs,  on  stone  instruments, 
on  the  chase,  or  on  wild  fruits.  They  were,  in  short, 
just  what  the  remains  of  prehistoric  man  show.  They 
were  cave  men.  Here  is  confirmation  of  the  Bibk 
story. 

The  advance,  however,  appears  to  have  been  rapid. 
Cain  builds  a  "  city."  We  must  not  imagine  a  mod- 
ern city.  It  was  a  crude  erection.  There  followed  the 
invention  of  instruments  of  music,  tools  and  weapons 
of  metal,  and  the  domestication  of  animals.  With 
94 


The  Deluge  95 

these  the  advance  was  rapid  with  primeval  powers 
and  strength  and  faculties.  The  Bible  tells  us  that 
the  first  man  was  **in  the  image  of  God,"  and  that 
means  physical  and  intellectual  powers.  The  evidence 
of  archaeology  tells  the  same  story. 

If  the  remains  of  what  is  called  prehistoric  man  are 
those  of  that  time  they  had  scattered  far  and  wide. 
The  great  centres  of  population  remained  at  or  near 
their  original  home,  and  that  we  know  as  to  general 
locality.  Another  fact  that  we  must  notice  is  the 
remarkable  advance  made  in  that  old  world  in  civili- 
zation. We  have  evidences  of  this.  The  Great  Pyra- 
mid was  erected  by  the  descendants  of,  although  not 
in,  that  antediluvian  age,  and  shows  the  skill  of  those 
early  times.  It  is  in  some'  respects  the  greatest 
building  now  existing.  Prof.  Piazzi  Smyth  tells 
us  that  the  stones  are  laid  with  such  skill  that  the 
junctures,  mortar  and  all,  may  be  covered  with  a  hair. 
Prof.  Flinders  Petrie  tells  us  that  the  stones  show 
marks  of  the  tubular  and  solid  drill  cutting  a  tenth 
of  an  inch,  yet  exhibit  no  sign  of  wear  in  the  tool, 
which  was  edged  with  diamond  or  equally  hard 
stones.  It  is  the  repository  of  scientific  secrets  also, 
showing  knowledge  of  astronomical  facts  of  a  high 
order. 

The  Bible  presents  us  the  history  of  two  races  of 
antediluvians.  The  course  of  the  two  races  is  seen  in 
the  tables  of  their  descent.  The  line  of  Seth  is  the 
godly  one.  Enoch  and  Noah  are  in  that  line.  The 
line  of  Cain  is  the  ungodly  race. 


96  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

2.    Table  of  the  Races  of  Seth  and  Cain. 

These  ten  generations  have  left  their  evidence  in 
the  Ten  Heroes  or  Kings  of  antiquity  which  nearly  all 
ancient  peoples  have  in  tradition. 

The  remarkable  longevity  attributed  to  that  age  is 
not  considered  impossible  from  a  scientific  stand- 
point by  the  best  physiologists.  Dr.  John  Gardner 
writes:  *•  Before  the  flood  men  are  said  to  live  five 
and  even  nine  hundred  years.  As  a  physiologist,  I 
can  assert  positively  that  there  is  no  fact  reached  by 
science  to  contradict  or  render  this  improbable.  It  is 
more  difficult,  on  scientific  grounds,  to  explain  why 
men  die  at  all  than  to  believe  in  the  duration  of  life 
for  one  thousand  years.  Only  from  experience  do  we 
learn  that  all  men  in  the  past  have  died ;  we  infer  that 
all  now  or  in  the  future  will  die  "  (Longevity,  p.  176). 
In  the  Bible  view  of  man's  creation  in  physical  per- 
fection, which  he  retained  through  many  generations 
in  some  degree,  the  gradual  loss  of  longevity  as  shown 
in  the  table  and  after  the  flood  is  another  evidence  of 
the  consistency  of  the  Bible  account.  All  fall  short 
of  a  thousand  years  in  age.  That  was  probably  the 
time  of  the  original  life  which  would  have  led  to  some 
superior  state,  perhaps  translation,  as  Enoch,  or  as  at 
the  end  of  the  world. 

The  time  when  ''  men  began  to  call  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord  "  is  seen  in  the  names  ending  with  "el," 
the  name  of  God.  On  the  Cain  side  Mehujael,  ''  puri- 
fied of  God";    Methusael,  "strengthened  of  God." 


The  Deluge  97 

On  the  Seth  side  we  find  Mahalalel,  **the  praise 
of  God."  The  dedine  of  the  revival  is  seen  in 
the  names  also.  Lamech,  ''strong  youth,"  boasting 
in  physical  strength.  Tubal-Cain,  '' lance-forger"  ; 
weapons  of  war,  showing  strife  and  cruelty.  This 
extended  to  the  Seth  race  who  intermingled  by 
marriage.  Methusaleh,  *'man  of  the  arrow";  and 
also  a  Lamech  or  ''strong  youth."  All  this  agrees 
with  the  general  statement  that  the  earth  was  filled 
with  violence,  that  is  war  and  murder  and  persecu- 
tion of  the  godly,  which  began  with  Abel.  The 
general  state  was  as  seen  in  the  name  given  Noah  by 
his  parents,  "  rest, ' '  evidencing  their  present  unrest  and 
hope  for  the  future.     They  were  weary  of  violence. 

The  apostasy  of  that  old  world  seems  to  have  been 
the  substitution  of  physical  strength,  wealth,  the 
culture  of  the  arts  and  military  achievement  for  god- 
liness. This,  with  the  advance  in  the  use  of  weapons, 
led  to  the  reign  of  violence,  and  God  in  His  sovereign 
wisdom  brought  the  whole  age  to  a  close  in  the 
deluge. 

On  the  Seth  side  is  found  the  godly  Enoch  who 
walked  with  God,  perhaps  the  only  one,  in  a  world 
of  sin.  His  taking  from  the  earth  by  translation  is  a 
hint  as  to  the  probable  means  of  ending  the  probation 
of  all  if  they  had  not  sinned  in  Eden.  His  taking 
before  the  flood  is  prophetic  of  those  who  also  shall 
escape  what  the  flood  stands  for  in  the  future.  Save 
in  name  only,  we  find  that  all  the  godly  are  in  the 
Seth  line. 


98  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

3.     Commingling  of  the  Two  Races. 

We  read  ''the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of 
men  that  they  were  fair  and  they  took  them  wives  of 
all  that  they  chose."  This  means  the  mingling  of 
the  races  of  Cain  and  Seth.  The  mingling  of  God's 
people  with  the  world  has  been  the  usual  cause  of 
apostasy  and  decline  and  has  brought  down  chastise- 
ment upon  the  whole  race.  The  *' men  of  renown  " 
are  undoubtedly  the  heroes  to  whom  all  ancient  peoples 
look  back.  Their  number  is  that  of  the  ten  genera- 
tions of  Seth  or  the  seven  of  the  Cain  race.  The 
discoveries  of  prehistoric  man  give  strange  attestation 
to  the  Bible  account.  There  are  three  classes  of  re- 
mains found  from  these  early  times.  One  is  that  of 
a  mild  featured,  brown-haired  race  ;  a  second  a  sturdy 
brutal  race  ;  the  third  a  gigantic  race  whose  skeletons 
measure  seven  and  a  half  feet.  This  agrees  with  the 
three  races  given  in  the  scripture,  the  race  of  Seth,  of 
Cain  and  the  giants  named. 

The  moral  state  is  thus  described  :  "The  wicked- 
ness of  man  was  great  in  the  earth.  Every  imagina- 
tion of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  con- 
tinually. .  .  .  The  earth  was  corrupt  before  God 
and  the  earth  was  filled  with  violence  "  (6  :  5,  13). 
Noah  was  the  only  exception  to  that  state.  The  sins  of 
that  age  were  violence  and  corruption  with  persecution 
of  the  godly.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  general 
law  against  murder  as  after  the  flood ;  nor  any  govern- 
ment save  might.  Sensual  corruption  also  prevailed. 
Lamech's  sin  was  an  instance  of  many  such.     Polyg- 


The  Deluge  99 

amy  also  prevailed,  and  intemperance,  for  Noah's  in- 
temperance after  the  flood  tells  of  even  greater  in- 
temperance in  others.  The  first  chapter  of  Romans 
tells  the  state  of  that  world  and  God's  treatment  of  it. 
It  undoubtedly  refers  primarily  to  that  age  as  it  does 
to  man  in  general  (Rom.  i :  18-32). 

In  Job  is  a  reference  giving  the  state  and  sin 
of  that  time.  "Wilt  thou  keep  the  old  way  which 
wicked  men  have  trodden  who  were  snatched  away 
before  their  time,  whose  foundation  was  poured  out  as 
a  stream,  who  said  unto  God,  Depart  from  us  and 
what  can  the  Almighty  do  for  (to)  us.  Yet  He  filled 
their  houses  with  good  things"  (Job  22:15-18). 
Here  is  a  distinct  statement  of  their  rejection  of  God. 

Prof.  Taylor  Lewis  thus  writes  on  the  state  of 
man  then  :  **  Only  evil,  nothing  but  evil,  all  the  day 
— every  day,  and  every  moment  of  every  day.  If 
this  is  not  total  depravity,  how  can  language  express 
it  ?  ...  It  affirms  that  he  is  all  wrong  in  all 
things  and  all  the  time.  It  does  not  mean  that  man 
is  as  bad  as  the  devils,  or  that  every  man  is  as  bad  as 
every  other,  or  that  man  is  as  bad  as  he  possibly  may 
be  or  may  become.  There  are  degrees  of  intensity, 
but  no  limit  to  the  universality  or  extent  of  evil  in  the 
soul."  The  process  of  the  growth  of  evil  is  here 
given.  "The  imagination  of  the  thought  of  his 
heart."  Here  are  the  fashioned  purposes,  the  thoughts 
from  which  these  come,  and  the  state  of  heart  the 
source  of  all.  The  Spanish  proverb  expresses  this, 
"Sow  a  thought  and  reap  a  wish,  sow  a  wish  and 


lOO  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

reap  an  act."  But  the  scripture  goes  deeper.  It 
lays  bare  the  nature  of  the  heart,  the  abyss  from  which 
the  feelings  come.  Christ  opens  this  source  of  evil 
when  He  says,  *'  out  of  the  heart  come  forth  evil 
thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts, 
false  witness,  railings"  (Matt.  15  :  19). 

4.  God's  Attitude  Towards  that  Age. 
We  read  the  statement  that ''  it  repented  the  Lord  that 
He  had  made  man  on  the  earth  and  it  grieved  Him  at 
His  heart"  (6:6).  We  must  interpret  this,  as  all 
scripture,  in  consistency  with  its  own  declared  princi- 
ples. Every  writer  has  this  privilege.  This  language 
is  then  to  be  understood  in  the  light  of  God's  omni- 
science and  knowledge  of  the  outcome  of  all  things 
from  the  beginning  and  His  unchangeableness.  What- 
ever it  means,  it  does  not  mean  that  God  did  not  know 
how  man  would  turn  out  or  what  the  results  of  his  crea- 
tion would  be.  This  is  to  strip  God  of  His  character 
and  reduce  Him  to  the  level  of  ordinary  beings.  We 
must  remember  that  we  are  in  the  earliest  book  of  the 
Bible,  the  primer  of  the  Bible,  where  God  is  teach- 
ing the  elements  of  truth.  We  must  also  remember 
that  God  must  represent  Himself  in  human  attributes 
and  acting  on  our  level  in  order  to  convey  any  meaning 
to  our  minds.  He  therefore  speaks  as  we  would  if 
disappointed  at  the  results.  To  speak  in  the  language 
of  heaven  or  to  represent  God  in  a  purely  spiritual 
light  to  us  would  be  like  talking  science  to  a  savage. 
As  the  great  revelation  goes  on,  the  language  is  more 


The  Deluge  loi 

spiritual  and  God  is  revealed  in  higher  terms,  as  man 
is  able  to  apprehend  Him,  God  is  represented  to  man 
in  motives,  as  in  outward  acts,  in  anthropomorphic 
terms  and  figures  and  in  such  attitudes.  Only  such 
could  be  understood  at  all. 

Another  thought  is  that  in  being  infinite  God  does 
not  represent  Himself  as  without  emotions,  but  as 
infinite  in  emotions.  His  love  is  not  absence  of  love, 
but  infinity  of  love,  so  with  all  His  qualities.  God  is 
grieved,  infinitely  grieved,  at  man's  sin  and  misery, 
and  pleased,  infinitely  pleased,  at  man's  attainment  to 
holiness  and  happiness. 

His  decision  is  based  on  this  condition,  "  My  spirit 
shall  not  strive  with  man  forever,  for  that  he  also  is 
flesh ;  yet  his  days  shall  be  an  hundred  and  twenty 
years  "  (6  :  6).  It  is  in  man's  conscience  that  God's 
spirit  strives,  and  this  cannot,  from  the  very  nature  of 
conscience  and  truth,  continue  forever.  Conscience 
gets  hardened.  Truth  loses  its  power  over  man  by 
use.  Therefore  it  is  in  mercy  that  God  takes  the  sub- 
ject of  that  appeal  away  from  further  opportunity  and 
further  apostasy. 

It  was  also  an  act  of  mercy  as  well  as  judgment. 
The  warnings  were  many  and  clear.  The  calls  to  re- 
pentance also  were  many.  Enoch,  the  seventh  from 
Adam,  foretold  the  flood  and,  as  a  prophet,  called  men 
to  repent  (Jude  14).  Noah  was  himself  a  preacher 
of  righteousness  (2  Pet.  2  :  5),  and,  if  we  read  rightly, 
prophesied  one  hundred  and  twenty  years.  The  ark 
itself  was  a  constant  call  to  all  to  enter  as  the  Church 


102  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

is  to-day.  We  may  be  sure  that  any  who  applied  would 
have  been  admitted.  They  had  the  relics  of  primeval 
religion.  Man  began  with  the  knowledge  of  God  as 
all  old  religions  attest.  Perhaps  the  Cherubim  also 
were  allowed  to  remain  and  by  their  presence  warn 
man.     This  might  have  been  the  place  of  worship. 

The  message  to  Noah  to  build  the  ark  was  a  call  of 
mercy  to  that  world  as  well  as  of  favor  to  himself.  It 
was  a  step  of  faith  to  enter  upon  that  great  endeavor. 
Ridicule,  expostulation,  censure,  persecution  and 
finally  neglect  would  follow  his  work.  It  was  a  work 
of  great  self-sacrifice.  It  possibly  required  the  expen- 
diture of  his  entire  fortune,  all  upon  the  simple  word 
of  God.  He  is  called  a  week  before  the  Deluge  be- 
gins. Such  a  pause  we  often  see  before  the  storm  of 
vengeance.  It  is  given  in  the  destruction  of  Sodom 
and  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  at  the  last  day. 

5.     Evidences  and  Extent  of  the  Deluge. 

There  is  no  fact  of  ancient  history  better  certified  to 
than  the  deluge.  There  are  said  to  be  sixteen  ancient 
accounts  of  it  besides  that  in  the  Bible.  It  is  re- 
corded by,  or  known  to  all  peoples  who  have  records  or 
traditions.  The  Chaldeans,  the  Hindus,  the  Chinese, 
the  Romans,  Greeks,  Scandinavians,  the  Indians  and 
Mexicans  of  America  all  have  the  story.  The  best 
account  is  that  just  discovered,  believed  to  have  been 
made  soon  after  the  time  by  the  Chaldeans.  It  agrees 
with  the  Bible  account  in  twenty-five  particulars.  A 
comparison  of  these  accounts  with  the  Bible  story  shows 


The  Deluge  103 

a  vast  difference  in  consistency,  clearness  and  credibility. 
The  ancient  accounts  from  the  monuments  and  other 
sources  show  the  usual  crudities  and  grotesque  features 
of  all  such  records.  If  the  one  is  a  copy  of  the  others, 
the  comparison  shows  that  the  Bible  account  bears  all 
the  evidences  of  the  original  by  its  simplicity  and 
careful  statements.  But  it  is  probable  that  none  of 
them  are  copies  of  the  others.  All  are  the  records  of 
the  event  itself. 

Its  universality,  as  far  as  man  is  concerned,  is 
verified  by  its  universal  traditions.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  the  entire  earth  was  involved  in  the  deluge. 
The  expressions  used  do  not  call  for  any  wider  area 
of  destruction  than  that  covered  by  the  human  race. 
Mankind  would,  it  is  estimated,  at  that  time  number 
some  millions.  Similar  expressions  are  used  elsewhere 
of  purely  local  and  limited  events. 

The  region  of  these  events  is  peculiarly  situated. 
The  level  of  the  Black  Sea  is  eighty-three  feet  above 
the  Persian  Gulf.  A  depression  of  this  region  on  the 
same  scale  as  has  often  occurred  in  historic  times  else- 
where, would  involve  the  whole  region  for  2,000  square 
miles  in  an  overflow  covering  its  hills.  The  statement, 
"  fifteen  cubits  and  upward  did  the  waters  prevail  and 
the  mountains  were  covered"  (7:  20),  points  by  its 
comparatively  small  depth  to  a  limited  and  local  flood. 
It  certainly  does  not  seem  a  compatible  measurement 
with  the  covering  of  such  great  heights  as  the  Him- 
alayan and  Rocky  mountain  ranges  rising  to  the 
height    of  30,000  feet.     This  is  also  intimated  in  the 


I04  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Creation  Psalm,  where  it  is  said  of  the  rising  of  the 
land  at  the  formation  of  the  seas,  <*  Thou  hast  set  a 
bound  that  they  may  not  pass  over  ;  that  they  turn  not 
again  to  cover  the  earth  "  (Ps.  104  :  9).  Here  a  uni- 
versal covering  of  the  earth  seems  forbidden  by  the 
creative  edict. 

6.     Causes  of  the  Deluge. 

We  do  not  know,  except  in  a  general  way,  what  were 
the  direct  causes  of  the  deluge.  There  are  many  possible 
causes.  The  atmosphere  contained  much  more  mois- 
ture than  now.  The  expression  in  the  creative  ac- 
count, speaking  of  the  "waters  which  are  above  the 
heavens,"  seems  to  point  to  such  a  condition. 

The  giving  of  the  rainbow  as  a  new  appearance 
after  the  flood  also  indicates  some  changes  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  atmospheric  conditions.  The  gradual 
clearing  of  the  atmosphere  from  the  earliest  age  to  our 
own  tells  of  a  similar  state  of  denser  moisture  in  the 
earth's  early  ages.  So  that  we  have  reason,  not  only 
from  scripture  statements,  but  from  geologic  evidence, 
to  believe  that  there  was  a  denser  mass  of  vapors  in 
the  atmosphere  than  we  have  now.  The  precipita- 
tion of  this  would  be  the  opening  of  ' '  the  windows 
of  heaven  "  not  till  then  opened.  This,  with  the  dis- 
charge of  the  volumes  of  water  from  the  surrounding 
seas,  would  answer  the  scripture  statements  and  produce 
the  deluge  described.  If  it  accompanied  some  great 
volcanic  upheaval,  such  as  has  often  come  to  earth,  as 
geology  and  history  alike  testify,  there  would  be  not 


The  Deluge  105 

only  a  flood  covering  that  region,  but  extending  to  all 

parts  of  the  earth.     The  earth  has  had  many  deluges. 

Again  and  again  has  its  surface  been  under  water. 

The  presence  of  sea  shells  on  the  highest  mountains 

attests  that  deluges  have  been  among  the  commonest 

experiences  of  our  globe. 

7.     Chronology  of  the  Deluge. 
The  deluge  is  dated,  and  its  various  stages  also 

given.     It  occurred  in  the  six  hundredth  year  of  Noah. 

The  year  began  at  that  time  with  the  autumnal  equinox, 
that  is  September  2  2d.  It  was  afterwards  changed  by 
Moses  to  the  spring  equinox,  but  at  this  time  it  was  in 
the  fall.  The  dates  of  the  deluge  reduced  to  our  time 
are  as  follows:  Noah  entered  the  ark  November  ist. 
The  deluge  began  November  8th.  It  rained  forty  days, 
that  is  to  December  i6th.  The  waters  prevailed  all 
winter  and  began  to  recede  in  May.  The  dove  was 
sent  out  in  July.  The  earth  dried  during  July  and 
August.  Noah  left  the  ark  November  ist,  a  year  from 
the  time  he  entered  it.  This  was  the  season  for  culti- 
vation of  the  land.  The  Bible  account  says  that  the 
flood  began  on  the  seventeenth  and  the  earth  was  dried 
on  the  twenty-seventh.  The  ten  days  are  necessary  to 
bring  the  lunar  months  in  which  they  reckoned  into  har- 
mony with  the  solar  time,  thus  completing  a  full  year. 

8.     Lessons. 
The  best  review  of  the  lessons  of  the  deluge  is  to 
follow  the  scriptural  use  of  it.     It  is  referred  to  in  the 
following  passages  : 


io6  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Our  Lord  uses  it  as  a  type  of  His  coming.  *'As 
were  the  days  of  Noah,  so  shall  be  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  Man.  For,  as  in  those  days  which  were  before 
the  flood,  they  were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and 
giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noah  entered 
into  the  ark,  and  they  knew  not  until  the  flood  came 
and  took  them  all  away :  so  shall  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  Man  be"  (Matt.  24:  37-39).  Here  is  a 
description  of  a  time  of  plenty  and  merriment, 
utter  indifference  and  ignorance  of  the  approaching 
doom. 

In  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  Noah's  faith  and  the 
reason  and  result  are  given.  ''By  faith  Noah,  being 
warned  of  God  concerning  things  not  seen  as  yet, 
moved  with  godly  fear,  prepared  an  ark  to  the  saving 
of  his  house  ;  through  which  he  condemned  the  world 
and  became  heir  of  the  righteousness  which  is  accord- 
ing to  faith  "  (Heb.  11  :  7).  The  grounds  on  which 
Noah  believed  were  sufficient  for  all  to  have  believed 
and  his  faith  therefore  condemned  their  unbelief  as 
unreasonable  and  impious. 

The  Apostle  Peter  used  the  ark  as  a  type  of  the 
Christian  life.  ''In  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark 
was  preparing,  wherein  few,  that  is  eight  souls  were 
saved  through  water ;  which  also  after  a  true  likeness 
doth  now  save  you,  even  baptism,  not  the  putting 
away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  interrogation  of  a 
good  conscience  towards  God  "  (i  Peter  3  :  20,  21). 
The  ark  and  Noah's  entrance  into  it  here  stand  for 
that  open  confession  of  Christ  and  entrance  into  Christ 


The  Deluge  107 

which  baptism  shows  (Rom.  10  :  9).  The  believer  has 
passed  from  that  condemned  and  guilty  world  and  life 
into  that  new  world  and  life  typified  by  Noah's  new 
world  and  life. 

Again  the  Apostle  Peter  quotes  the  flood  in  confir- 
mation of  the  certainty  and  character  of  the  end  of 
the  world :  *'  In  the  last  days  mockers  shall  come 
with  mockery,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  say- 
ing. Where  is  the  promise  of  His  coming  ?  for,  from 
the  day  that  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue 
as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation. 
For  this  they  will  fully  forget,  that  there  were  heavens 
from  of  old,  and  an  earth,  compacted  out  of  water  and 
amidst  water,  by  the  word  of  God  ;  by  which  means 
the  world  that  then  was,  being  overflowed  with  water, 
perished ;  but  the  same  heavens  that  now  are  and  the 
earth,  by  the  same  word  have  been  stored  up  for  fire 
(margin  stored  with  fire)  being  reserved  against  the 
day  of  judgment  and  destruction  of  ungodly  men. 
.  .  .  But  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief; 
in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise,  and  the  elements  shall  be  dissolved  with  fervent 
heat,  and  the  earth  and  the  works  that  are  therein 
shall  be  burned  up  .  .  .  but  according  to  His 
promise  we  look  for  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth 
wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  "  (2  Pet.  3  :  3-13). 

Here  the  idea  of  the  unvarying  stability  of  nature  is 
controverted  and  the  deluge  pointed  to  as  a  proof  of 
mighty  changes  in  the  future  as  in  the  past.  The 
destruction  of  that  old  world  of  life  is  held  out  as  a 


io8  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

proof  of  the  destruction  of  the  present  world.  It  is 
also  a  type  of  that  coming  destruction.  That  did  not 
annihilate  the  earth  or  destroy  its  substance,  but  the 
surface  only.  It  was  a  renovation  of  the  earth  pre- 
paratory to  a  new  order  of  things.  But  as  that  day 
was  greater  than  any  previous  time  of  judgment,  so 
this  coming  destruction  will  exceed  that  of  the  flood. 
We  might  argue  from  the  analogy  that  in  some  way 
there  will  be  preserved  the  beginnings  of  the  new  order 
which  shall  prevail  at  that  time.  As  the  earth  con- 
tained the  elements  of  its  own  destruction  then,  so  it 
does  now.  It  is  "  stored  with  fire"  as  all  knowledge 
of  the  earth's  interior  tells  us.  Its  air  and  water  are 
combustible  and  there  are  the  most  inflammable  of 
gases,  coals  and  oils  in  its  interior.  All  that  it  needs 
is  the  word  of  God.  The  burning  of  worlds  is  often 
seen  in  the  heavens  by  the  astronomer.  Men  are  to- 
day incredulous  of  all  this  as  they  were  at  the  time  of 
the  deluge.  The  present  state  of  the  world  will  be 
like  that  old  world  in  civilization,  plenty  and  merri- 
ment, unbelief  and  corruption.  But  God's  word  is 
certain  of  fulfillment. 

The  great  lesson  of  the  deluge  is  one  on  dispensa- 
tional  truth.  The  future  has  a  large  place  in  the 
Bible.  It  is  ever  pointing  forward  to  the  Day  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  last  book  sums  up  all  the  others  in  its 
splendid  picture  of  that  Day.  Like  Enoch,  some 
will  be  taken  out  of  the  world  ;  like  Noah,  some  will 
go  through  the  judgments  of  that  Day. 

The  new  world  is  opened  with  some  remarkable 


The  Deluge  log 

changes.  Noah  builds  an  altar  and  offers  burnt- 
offerings  of  clean  animals.  The  mention  of  these 
elements  of  the  ceremonial  worship  shows  an  early  and 
a  full  revelation  of  more  than  is  generally  supposed. 
Only  by  divine  revelation  could  man  know  that  such 
would  be  a  right  way  to  approach  God.  In  response 
to  Noah's  worship,  God  gives  him  a  New  Covenant. 
It  is  therefore  given  on  the  grounds  of  Christ's  merits, 
which  all  sacrifice  implies.  The  New  Covenant  re- 
moves the  curse  from  the  ground,  and  gives  permanency 
to  the  seasons,  perhaps  the  arrangement  of  seasons  as 
we  have  them  now.  If  the  deluge  was  caused  by  the 
precipitation  of  the  masses  of  vapors  in  the  heavens  that 
we  know  once  existed,  then  there  would  come  that 
colder  state  which  geology  tells  followed  the  warm  age 
of  early  man's  life  on  earth.  The  rainbow  was 
evidently  a  new  phenomenon,  and  this  shows  that 
there  once  existed  a  state  unlike  our  present  cloud  and 
rain  climate. 

A  special  blessing  is  given  Noah.  **Be  fruitful  and 
multiply  and  replenish  the  earth."  They  are  also 
now  given  animal  food. 

Protection  of  life  is  given  in  the  command  to  slay 
the  murderer,  also  a  promise  of  exemption  from  flood,  the 
fear  of  which  would  have  kept  man  in  a  state  of  terror. 
The  storm  gives  the  rainbow,  the  promise  of  immunity  as 
well  as  the  evidence  of  its  passing  away.  The  new 
world  starts  with  better  conditions  as  well  as  a  wider 
display  of  grace.  Human  life  is  shortened  but  is 
pleasanter,    and    more    safe.       There    is   no   special 


no  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

religious  revelation  mentioned  save  that  inferred  in 
the  knowledge  of  sacrifice.  The  blessings  are  tem- 
poral and  earthly,  but  they  show  a  new  and  closer  re- 
lation to  God.  ^ 

The  ark  is  often  used  as  a  type  of  Christ.  It 
should  be  more  properly  applied  to  the  Christian  life, 
Christ  impersonal  rather  than  Christ  personal.  The 
Apostle  Peter  thus  uses  it  (i  Pet.  3:21;  also  Heb. 
II  :  7).  As  the  ark  built  by  Noah  saved  himself  and 
house,  so  the  godly  life  of  the  church  and  its 
ordinances  are  the  heavenly  appointed  means  of  sal- 
vation. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  NATIONS 

Genesis  9-1  i. 
With  the  beginning  of  the  new  age  after  the  flood, 
we  are  introduced  to  the  ground  plan  of  humanity. 
Noah  was  heir  to  the  whole  earth,  and  with  him  God 
began  the  race  again.  All  are  descended  from  him 
as  all  are  from  Adam.  So  the  history  of  the  race 
begins  again  here.  This  is  the  beginning  of  all 
history,  of  all  ethnology;  for,  while  much  may  be 
learned  of  man  before  the  flood,  it  will  be  little  at 
best.  Our  present  nations  all  began  here.  These 
chapters  are  the  foundation  of  all  we  know  as  to 
man's  early  history.  In  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis 
is  given  what  is  called  the  Table  of  the  Nations,  in- 
cluding seventy  nations,  more  or  less,  and  to  this  all 
must  go  for  a  beginning.  The  study  of  this  subject 
includes  The  Sons  of  Noah,  The  Dispersion,  The 
Table  of  the  Nations. 

I.  The  Sons  of  Noah. 
The  three  sons  of  Noah  form  the  simple  yet  com- 
prehensive ground  plan  of  humanity.  These  develop 
into  the  ''  Seventy  Nations  "  of  the  tenth  chapter  after 
the  Dispersion,  which,  though  it  precedes  the  Table 
of  Nations,  is  related  afterwards. 
Ill 


112  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

The  incident  which  led  to  the  prophecy  regarding 
the  three  sons  and  their  descendants  is  characteristic 
of  scripture.  Much  is  made  of  names  and  their 
meaning  in  scripture,  also  much  is  made  of  natal  con- 
ditions and  events,  and  the  doings  in  childhood.  So 
the  destiny  of  Ishmael  was  fixed,  and  the  character  of 
Jacob  foretold  (Gen.  21:  9,  10;  25:  24-26).  So  it 
was  with  nearly  every  great  scriptural  character.  It 
was  a  method  of  divine  prophecy.  The  incident  of 
Noah's  prophecy  as  to  his  sons  may  be  studied  as 
a  personal  family  lesson,  but  its  great  meaning  is 
prophetical  and  dispensational. 

The  ordinary  lessons  of  temperance  and  parental 
honor  need  not  to  be  enlarged  upon  here.  The  world 
needed  this  lesson.  The  honor  due  the  parent  is 
the  basis  of  all  government,  which  is  now  to  be 
developed.  It  is  taught,  and  severely,  with  a  curse 
which  will  not  be  forgotten  and  which  the  world  has 
never  forgotten.  The  authority  of  the  parent  was  then 
forever  established. 

It  contains  also  a  great  lesson  in  that  strange  scien- 
tific and  scriptural  fact  of  heredity,  whose  laws  are  at 
the  basis  of  all  life  and  form  the  stability  of  nature. 
It  is  as  true  of  man  as  of  plant  or  animal.  The  traits 
of  Noah's  sons,  that  is  the  natural  traits,  follow  down 
through  these  channels  to  our  own  time.  The  three 
races  of  man  inherit  the  great  traits  of  these  primeval 
ancestors.  The  prophecy  therefore  rests  on  right  and 
on  natural  law  as  well  as  on  divine  justice.  It  is  the 
union  of  natural  and  supernatural  law. 


The  Origin  of  the  Nations         113 

The  threefold  division  of  the  human  race  prophesied 
by  Noah  holds  good  along  racial,  political  and  relig- 
ious lines.  The  three  divisions  into  black,  white  and 
brown  are  the  best  that  can  be  made.  It  is  significant 
that  the  names  of  Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth,  as  found 
on  the  Assyrian  tablets,  mean  respectively  olive-col- 
ored, sunburned  and  white.  The  social  and  political 
character  is  even  more  strongly  marked.  The  superi- 
ority of  the  white  needs  no  proof.  The  condition  of 
the  others  likewise  needs  no  comment.  This,  of 
course,  applies  to  all  as  races.  Individual  exceptions 
of  a  contrary  character  are  found  and  all  distinctions 
are  done  away  in  Christ.  The  white  race  is  the  domi- 
nant race  and  the  others  are  in  subjection.  ^<  God  shall 
enlarge  Japheth."  He  is  now  the  great  colonizing 
race. 

The  religious  difference  is  clearly  seen.  The  Sem- 
itic races  are  the  religious  peoples.  From  them  come 
the  great  ethic  religions.  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  God 
of  Shem,"  marks  him  as  the  preserver  of  true  religion, 
the  priestly  member  of  the  family.  From  him  have 
come  the  Jewish  and  Christian  religions. 

There  are  other  distinctions  also  clearly  seen.  There 
are  three  types  of  language  and  three  orders  of  national 
thought :  the  material,  the  psychical,  the  spiritual. 
These  are  predominant  in  these  three  races.  Ham  is 
physically  inclined,  Japheth  intellectually,  and  Shem 
religiously. 

All  this  was  laid  out  in  scripture  4,000  years  ago. 
It  is  the  administration  of  God  in  the  destinies  of 


114  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

man.  God  is  sovereign.  He  has  not  taken  us  into 
His  councils  or  given  us  all  the  reasons  or  the  facts 
in  the  problem.  It  is  no  basis  for  personal  or  racial 
pride,  for  the  proudest  have  been  humbled  to  the  dust 
in  the  course  of  ages  and  the  humblest  exalted.  These 
are  earthly  relations  only  and  in  eternity  may  be  found 
reversed.  In  the  case  of  individuals,  the  first  is  made 
last,  and  the  last,  first.     It  may  be  so  in  races  also. 

2.     The  Dispersion. 

The  dispersion  seems  to  have  been  in  the  days  of 
Peleg,  the  fourth  from  Shem  (lo:  25).  The  event 
itself  is  in  the  narrative  of  the  Tower  of  Babel.  There 
is  no  fact  better  verified  than  the  Tower  of  Babel.  It 
was  used  as  a  place  of  worship  to  the  third  century 
A.  D.  An  ancient  manuscript  has  been  found  giving  a 
description  of  it.  {Expository  Times,  August,  1900.) 
It  was  composed  of  six  stories ;  a  temple  on  the  top 
formed  the  seventh.  It  was  ascended  by  365  steps, 
sixty  of  these  of  gold,  the  rest  of  silver.  It  had  been 
abandoned  in  its  early  history,  and  finished  by  subse- 
quent rulers. 

The  fact  of  the  unity  of  human  language  is  now 
established.  Language  is  one  of  the  barriers  between 
man  and  the  brute.  It  was  man's  faculty  from  the 
first.  It  was  a  part  of  his  original  being.  We  do 
not  know  what  was  the  original  tongue.  It  is  prob- 
ably lost  in  the  general  changes  which  have  occurred. 
The  fact  of  a  common  origin  shows  a  common  lan- 
guage.    This  with  the  fact  of  a  common  centre  from 


The  Origin  of  the  Nations        115 

which   man   has   dispersed   attests   the  account  here 
given. 

The  Tower  of  Babel  was  a  religious  edifice,  as  the 
account  and  use  attest  and  the  scripture  hints.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  another  apostasy,  the  origin  of 
heathenism,  which  has  cursed  the  world  ever  since. 
This  is  the  origin  of  the  traditions  among  many 
peoples  of  the  war  of  the  giants  against  the  gods. 
The  Tower  of  Babel  was  the  antithesis  of  Noah's  altar, 
the  approach  to  God  after  His  approved  way. 

God  wants  penitent  lives  and  man  builds  towers. 
There  was  at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  unbelief  in  the 
promise  of  God  as  to  the  exemption  of  mankind  from 
another  flood,  as  well  as  a  heaven-defying  pride  in  the 
tower. 

After  the  dispersion  the  building  of  the  tower  was 
continued  by  Nimrod,  who  bears  the  characteristics 
of  "a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord."  Probably 
a  hunter  of  men,  that  is  a  conqueror  and  dictator. 
Heathen  mythology  has  his  fame  enshrined  in  fable. 
In  a  later  time  the  name  of  the  tower  is  given  to  Babylon, 
which  had  the  same  characteristic  of  world-ruling, 
heaven-defying  pride.  It  also  was  antagonistic  to  God 
and  His  people,  and  in  the  prophetic  future  the  name 
is  applied  to  the  anti-Christianity  of  the  last  times. 
Babylon  of  the  Apocalypse  is  the  spiritual  successor 
of  these  early  godless  displays. 

The  spiritual  lessons  are  the  seed  of  the  Serpent  in 
antagonism  to  God  and  His  people ;  the  want  of  faith 
in  God  that  the  world  shows,  especially  in  His  good- 


ii6  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

ness ;  the  rejection  of  the  altar  for  the  tower ;  and  the 
substitution  of  false  religions  for  the  true.  The  con- 
centration of  religion  in  one  great  body  is  man's  idea 
of  religion.  It  has  led  to  the  greatest  evils  in  the  past. 
It  cannot  be  until  He  comes  whose  right  it  is  to  reign 
over  church  and  world. 

3.     The  Table  of  the  Nations. 

This  comes  before  the  account  of  the  dispersion, 
but  it  describes  the  state  of  the  world  after  that  event, 
and  therefore  we  will  consider  it  here.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  pass  it  by.  It  lies  at  the  basis  of  all  history  and 
ethnology.  It  is  remarkable  for  what  it  gives  and  for 
what  it  omits.  Its  brevity  is  as  remarkable  as  its 
comprehensiveness.  It  has  stood  the  test  of  investi- 
gation, and  calls  for  the  careful  study  of  the  Bible 
lover.  The  great  purpose  of  the  chapter,  as  with  all  we 
have  so  far  studied,  is,  first,  to  show  the  descent  of  the 
chosen  people.  The  table  begins  with  the  descendants 
of  Japheth,  with  whom  Israel  had  least  to  do,  and  then 
gives  the  descendants  of  Ham,  with  whom  they  had 
much  to  do,  and  then  the  descendants  of  Shem,  of 
whom  they  were  part.  The  first  two  are  given  only 
to  the  third  generation,  the  last  down  to  Eber  the 
great  ancestor  from  whom  the  Hebrews  get  their 
name,  and  his  son  Peleg  in  whose  days  the  dispersion 
occurred. 

The  dispersion  shows  the  Japhetic  race  in  Europe, 
the  Shemitic  in  Asia,  and  the  Hametic  in  Africa,  or 
drifting    that    way.     These,    however     are    general 


The  Origin  of  the  Nations        117 

divisions,  for  there  are  exceptions  to  each.     The  prin- 
cipal nations^  are  as  follows  : 

1 .  Japheth : — Gomer  is  represented  by  the  Germanic 
races ;  Magog,  Tubal,  and  Meshech,  by  the  Russian 
races ;  Madai,  by  the  Medes ;  Javan,  by  the  Greeks 
and  Italians ;  Togarmah,  by  the  Armenians ;  Tarshish, 
by  the  western  European  nations. 

2.  Ham: — Mizraim  is  Egypt;  Canaan,  the  Ca- 
naanite  nations;  Accad,  the  early  Assyrians.  The 
Philistines  and  other  Canaanite  nations  are  well  recog- 
nized. The  nations  of  Africa  are  also  included  in 
the  names  of  Ham's  descendants. 

3.  Shem  : — The  later  Assyrians  and  the  Hebrews 
are  the  best  known  representatives  of  his  descendants. 
The  older  Arabian  peoples  are  given  also. 

The  general  plan  of  the  settlement  of  the  world  is 
given  in  these  words,  "  When  the  Most  High  gave  to 
the  nations  their  inheritance,  when  He  separated  the 
children  of  men,  He  set  the  bounds  of  the  peoples 
according  to  the  numbers  of  the  children  of  Israel " 
(Deut.  32 :  8).  This  refers  to  the  dispersion  at 
Babel.  The  divine  plan  tells  us  that  the  various  races 
were  located  with  reference  to  their  relation  to  the 
nation  of  Israel.  Israel  was  placed  at  the  centre  of 
the  earth.  This  will  be  seen  by  taking  a  globe  or  map 
showing  the  whole  world,  having  the  American  con- 
tinents on  the  left,  and  measuring  from  Canaan  to  the 
extremes  of  the  lands  of  the  world.  The  distance  is 
about  the  same  to  the  extremes  of  Alaska  and  Siberia, 
to  the  southern  extreme  of  America  and  to  Australia. 


ii8  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

It  is  the  most  central  point  on  the  earth.  It  is  also  the 
most  accessible  point  from  all  lands.  The  great  seas 
which  lead  up  towards  that  land  give  channels  of  water 
communication  with  the  whole  earth.  The  continents 
all  radiate  from  the  land  of  man's  origin,  from  the  region 
of  man's  after  dispersion  at  the  flood,  and  from  the 
centre  of  man's  religious  life,  the  land  of  Canaan. 

All  this  tells  of  purpose  as  plainly  as  any  fact  can. 
The  regeneration  of  man  spiritually,  by  means  of 
Israel,  was  the  divine  purpose,  and  this  will  be  seen 
more  fully  as  the  history  proceeds.  Israel  was  to  be 
a  house  of  prayer  for  all  nations,  and  must  therefore 
be  accessible  to  the  nations.  Therefore  they  were 
arranged  around  Israel  from  their  beginning. 

Another  great  truth  we  see  in  all  this,  the  hand  of 
God  in  history.  We  are  not  shut  up  by  the  Bible  to 
the  one  nation  of  Israel,  although  that  is  its  great  sub- 
ject. God  is  the  God  of  the  whole  earth.  He  had 
world  purposes  in  mind  from  the  beginning.  Even  in 
His  election  or  selection  of  Israel,  it  was  not  them 
alone,  but  the  world  that  God  was  preparing  to  save. 
Here  we  see  in  the  very  ground  plan  of  humanity  that 
God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  prepared  for  them  a 
great  salvation  from  the  first. 

Another  great  fact  we  must  see  from  all  this.  We 
must  read  history  from  the  divine  centre  or  stand- 
point ;  that  is  the  spiritual  view.  It  is  this  that  shaped 
all  the  rest  in  the  divine  purpose.  If  the  spiritual 
rules,  or  should  rule  the  lower  natures,  it  should  also 
be  in  the  divine  purpose,  and  it  is  and  was.     We  must 


The  Origin  of  the  Nations         119 

therefore,  in  conclusion,  read  history  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  spiritual,  as  given  in  the  Bible,  that  is 
from  the  land  of  Canaan  and  its  people.  God's  pur- 
pose for  the  world  centres  in  them.  Let  the  nations 
stand  in  devout  scholarship  and  learn  the  divine 
lesson,  and  wisdom  will  be  not  only  more  spiritual  but 
more  certain. 


TABLE   OF  ABRAHAM'S  ANCESTRY 


2349 
B.C. 

2300.. 

Shem   100  YR5  Old  at  Flood 

Arphaxad  Born  2345 

Lived  438  Yf 

is 

Sau&h  2311.  433 

__- 



- 

EBER.  2Z8I.4-64.- 

2275-  - 

- 

-  -PELEG.  2247.  239.- "~ 

2250.  - 
2225. 



-- 

- 

peril     -J-?!?     O-^Q 

.-  —   — 

2200. . 
2I75_ 
2150. 
2125 

--- 

" 

3ERUG  Zlb5.  Z30.- 

48.' 

--■ 

NAHO'R.llSSr 

... 

TERAH.2I26.  205. 

2100 

2075 

2050.  _ 
2025  _ 

Noah 



- 

-• 

Peleg 

}|£D 

ZOOB 

NAhOB 

'DiEo'2io7^':  "  :. 

2000 

Died  isyz. 

---is..:.! 

1975 

D]zp 

1978 

"ABRAHAM       BORNI^QS. 

1950 

--- 

JSERUGDIEO 

.1955 

1  ED  1921   ■ 

1925 



TERAH  0 

1900  _ 

Arpmaxad  died  1908. 

r 

K/\Ar   CnOKi    IQQC 

1 

ur^r.^    ut^^TMi    j.U2y»  .  . 

1875 

JSALAH   Died  I878.'                       1 

1850 

Shem  Died 

1S45.                                          J 

-Jacob  Born  18377 

1 

1825.  .  . 

|BER  Died  I8 

7. Abra 

haFi  Died  I82i.---- 

1800 

_ . 

-  —  — 

.  _ 

rTj 

rn:r^_ 

IXO 


CHAPTER  VII 
ABRAHAM 

Genesis  11-25. 

The  whole  narrative  in  Genesis  has  been  centering 
towards  one  point,  which  we  now  have  reached,  the  com- 
ing of  the  progenitor  of  the  chosen  people.  The  eleven 
chapters  we  have  studied  cover  2,300  years  on  the 
shortest  chronology.  The  remaining  thirty-nine  chap- 
ters of  Genesis  are  occupied  with  about  300  years  of 
narrative.  This  shows  the  relation  of  the  events  and 
that  all  up  to  this  is  introductory. 

The  reality  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  as  verita- 
ble persons  is  as  well  attested  by  outside  evidence  as 
any  event  of  that  time  can  be.  The  whole  nation  of 
the  Jews  attest  it.  That  long  history  of  the  Jews, 
their  purity  of  descent,  their  scriptures,  preserved  with 
such  care,  are  among  the  many  facts  that  verify  the 
scriptural  account.  Abraham  is  as  well  known  among 
eastern  people  as  Washington  is  among  us.  His 
tomb  is  there  as  described  by  Josephus  1,900  years 
ago,  also  Jacob's  well,  known  for  centuries,  and  the 
seven  wells  of  Beersheba  lately  discovered  by  Prof. 
George  L.  Robinson,  of  Chicago.  The  battle  Abraham 
fought  with  the  four  kings  (Gen.  14)  is  attested  by 
the  discovery  of  the  names  of  these  kings  on  Assyrian 
121 


122  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

monuments,  and  the  account  of  a  battle  fought  by  these 
kings  under  similar  circumstances.  All  the  points  of 
historic  nature  are  true  to  the  times  and  lands  of  the 
patriarchs. 

The  study  of  Abraham  may  be  followed  in  four 
parts.  I.  His  Descent.  2.  His  History.  3.  His 
Covenant.     4.  His  Character. 

I.     Abraham's  Descent. 

The  history  of  Abraham  opens,  as  most  Bible  biogra- 
phies do,  with  his  genealogy.  There  are  ten  genera- 
tions from  Shem.  The  accompanying  Table  shows 
some  very  valuable  and  interesting  facts. 

From  examination  of  the  Table  we  see  the  rapid  de- 
cline in  the  longevity  of  the  patriarchs  after  the  flood, 
from  950  years  of  Noah's  life  to  175  for  Abraham, 
gradually  reduced  in  the  intervening  patriarchs.  Again 
we  notice  the  many  generations  contemporary  with  each 
other.  Ten  are  living  at  the  same  time.  Noah  lives 
to  see  nine  generations.  He  lives  to  within  a  year  of 
Abraham's  birth.  Shem  lives  until  after  the  birth  of 
Isaac.  Eber,  from  whom  the  whole  race  take  the  name 
of  Hebrew,  lives  until  after  the  birth  of  Jacob,  the 
father  of  the  twelve  tribes.  Abraham  could  have 
conferred  with  Shem  and  learned  all  the  facts  of  the 
flood  from  him.  By  comparison  with  the  table  of  the 
Antediluvian  Patriarchs,  it  will  be  seen  that  Shem 
could  have  conferred  with  several  cotemporaries  of 
Adam.  So  that  Abraham  was  only  distant  by  two 
generations  from  Adam.     What  Adam  told  Methu- 


Abraham  123 

selah  he,  in  turn,  could  have  communicated  to  Shem, 
and  he  again  to  Abraham.  We  can  see  here  how  the 
narratives  of  the  Bible  were  transmitted,  first  orally 
and  then  committed  to  writing. 

We  see  in  Abraham  the  result  of  a  process  of  se- 
lection. He  is  taken  from  the  line  of  Shem,  the  godly ; 
and  Shem,  from  Noah,  the  one  righteous  man ;  and  he, 
from  the  line  of  Seth,  in  which  comes  Enoch.  The 
same  process  continues  in  his  descendants.  Isaac  is 
taken  as  against  Ishmael ;  and  Jacob,  instead  of  Esau. 

Abraham  shows  characteristics  remarkable  in  that  age. 
The  world  was  falling  into  apostasy  from  the  primeval 
religion  when  Abraham  was  called.  The  worship  of 
the  heavenly  bodies  had  taken  the  place  of  the  worship 
of  God  and  now  Sargon,  the  king,  was  introducing  a 
multitude  of  idols.  At  Ur,  where  Abraham  lived,  a 
splendid  temple  to  the  moon  was  erected.  Tradition 
tells  many  incidents  of  Abraham's  godly  character. 
Most  of  them  are  unreliable,  but  the  tenor  of  them  all 
is  to  the  effect  that  he  stood  alone  in  adherence  to  God. 
One  historian  tells  that  he  conceived  the  idea  of  turn- 
ing the  whole  world  to  his  way  of  thinking  about  God. 
His  prompt  obedience  to  the  call  of  God  and  faithful 
adherence  to  Him  through  all  his  life  tell  of  prior  firm 
and  true  character  and  fixed  belief. 

2.     Abraham's  History. 
The  call  of  God  came  to  Abraham  in  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees  (Acts  7:1).     With  his  father  and  family,  he 
was  following  a  pastoral  life.     The  death  of  Abraham's 


124  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

brother,  Haran,  loosened  the  ties  that  bound  them  to 
Ur,  as  a  death  often  does.  They  had  an  encampment 
similar  to  that  of  an  Arabian  tribe  to-day.  This  life 
Abraham  followed  all  his  days,  and  his  sons  after  him. 
His  life  and  character  were  much  like  that  of  Job. 

His  call  gave  no  hint  as  to  the  direction  in  which  he 
was  to  go  (Heb.  1 1  :  8),  although  he  was  guided  from 
time  to  time.  He  journeyed  up  the  Euphrates  along 
the  fertile  lands  which  could  furnish  food  for  the  flocks 
and  herds.  They  halted  at  Haran,  where  a  stop  was 
made,  until  by  the  death  of  the  aged  father,  Terah, 
another  tie  was  broken;  and  Abraham,  having  no 
further  bonds  to  hold  him,  went  on  as  guided  to  the 
land  of  promise,  which,  no  doubt,  had  been  then 
pointed  out  to  him. 

Abraham's  life  is  full  and  carefully  given.  The 
chapters  will  assist  in  getting  it  fixed  in  mind.  They 
are  as  follows : 

Ch.  II.     Abraham's  genealogy. 

Ch.  12.  Call.  Haran.  Shechem.  Bethel. 
Egypt.     Age  75. 

Ch.  13.     Lot.     Promise. 

Ch.  14.     Battle.     Melchisedek. 

Ch.  15.     Covenant. 

Ch.  16.     Hagar.     Ishmael.     Age  86. 

Ch.  17.     Circumcision.     Promise.     Age  99. 

Ch.  18.     Angels.     Sodom. 

Ch.  19.     Lot  and  Sodom. 

Ch.  20.     Abimelech  and  Sarah. 

Ch.  21.     Isaac.     Hagar.     The  Wells.     Age  100. 


Abraham  125 

Ch.  22.  Isaac  oifered. 

Ch.  23.  Sarah's  death. 

Ch.  24.,  Rebecca.     Age  140. 

Ch.  25.  Keturah.     Abraham's  death.     Age  175. 

3.  Abraham's  Covenant. 
The  covenant  God  made  with  Abraham  is  the 
great  feature  of  his  life.  It  is  this  which  made  him 
great.  It  is  this  to  which  the  subsequent  scripture  refers. 
It  should  be,  therefore,  the  subject  of  special  study. 
It  was  given  in  seven  sections  or  communications. 

1.  In  Ur  (Acts  7  :  i),  he  is  given  a  command  with 
the  promise  only  of  a  land  that  God  would  show  him. 
This  step  involved  giving  up  his  home  and  friends 
and  taking  the  pilgrim  life.  The  great  provisions  of 
the  covenant  are  not  revealed  to  him  until  he  has 
shown  this  unquestioning  obedience.  He  obeys  the 
command. 

2.  Haran  (ch.  12:  1-3).  Here  the  second  com- 
mand and  section  of  the  promise  are  given.  God  com- 
passionately waits  until  Terah  has  been  laid  to  rest. 
It  is  not  Terah,  but  his  great  son  who  is  the  Covenant 
Father.  He  is  promised  now  a  land,  a  blessing,  a 
great  name,  to  be  a  blessing,  others  to  be  blessed  or 
cursed  for  his  sake,  and  all  the  families  of  the  earth  to 
be  blessed  in  him.  The  leaving  Haran  was  another 
step  of  separation  from  his  brothers  and  his  family, 
and  from  the  land  of  his  nativity ;  it  was  taking  another 
land  and  beginning  life  among  another  people. 

3.  Shechem  (ch.  12  :  7).     Here  the  land  is  pointed 


126  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

out,  ''Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land."  Here  he 
builds  an  altar  and  the  altar  accompanies  him  from 
this  on. 

4.  Bethel  (ch.  13).  Here  another  tie  is  broken. 
Lot  separates  from  Abraham.  His  choice  of  Sodom 
marks  him  as  unfit  for  a  share  in  the  covenant.  God 
now  tells  Abraham  that  ''his  seed  is  to  be  as  the 
dust  of  the  earth." 

5.  Hebron  (ch.  15).  Here  the  covenant  is  form- 
ally made  and  ratified.  Abraham's  seed  are  now- 
promised  to  be  as  the  stars  for  multitude.  The  visible 
stars  are  only  a  few  thousand.  Here,  then,  is  a  simile, 
coming  after  the  number  of  the  dust  of  the  earth  and 
so  superior  to  it.  There  is  plain  reference  to  the  in- 
numerable number  of  invisible  stars  only  recently  known 
in  such  vast  numbers.  It  is  this  promise  which  Abra- 
ham believes,  and  it  is  this  faith  which  is  counted  to  him 
for  righteousness,  but  not  until  it  is  tested,  as  James 
tells  us  (Jas.  2  :  21-23).  The  sacrifice  offered  was  a 
blood  covenant,  made  in  that  day  and  still  made  by 
the  people  of  that  country,  as  when  General  Grant 
visited  the  East.  It  was  made  by  the  parties  passing 
between  the  parts  of  the  sacrifice  laid  side  by  side. 
Jehovah,  in  the  symbol  of  fire,  and  Abraham  doubt- 
less so  passed  between  the  parts  of  the  sacrifice.  The 
boundaries  of  the  land  are  also  given  from  Egypt  to 
the  Euphrates.     The  Egyptian  bondage  is  also  foretold. 

6.  Hebron  (chs.  17,  18).  Here  he  is  given  a 
change  of  name.  Abram  is  now  Abraham,  "  Great 
Father  of  a  multitude."     It  is  to  be  an  "Everlasting 


Abraham  1 27 

Covenant,"  and  Canaan  to  be  an  ''  everlasting  posses- 
sion." Cifcumcision  is  given  as  the  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant. Ishmael,  whom  Abraham  thought  might  be  the 
source  of  the  coming  nation,  is  set  aside  and  Isaac 
promised.     Twelve  princes  are  to  come  from  him. 

The  same  year,  a  few  months  after  this,  three  angels 
visit  Abraham,  one  of  whom  is  Jehovah,  and  again 
Isaac  is  promised.  Abraham  is  again  told  that  he  is 
to  be  a  blessing  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Here, 
in  these  repeated  promises  of  being  a  world-wide 
blessing,  we  see  a  confirmation  of  the  tradition  of  his 
desire  to  bring  the  world  to  God.  His  desire  will  yet 
be  fulfilled. 

7.  Mount  Moriah  (ch.  22).  Isaac  is  called  for  as 
a  sacrifice  and  is  offered.  Then  the  wealth  of  the 
covenant  is  given  Abraham.  God  adds  His  oath, 
"By  myself  I  have  sworn."  Abraham's  seed  are  to 
be  as  the  stars  of  heaven  and  as  the  sand  of  the  sea. 
They  are  to  possess  the  gate  of  their  enemies  and  all 
the  nations  of  the  world  are  to  be  blessed  by  Abraham's 
seed. 

Now,  examining  this  covenant,  we  see  some  particu- 
lars to  be  noticed.  First,  what  Abraham  obtained 
himself.  He  was  to  have  a  great  name.  His  name  is 
great  to-day  all  through  the  world.  In  the  place 
where  he  lived  he  is  revered.  He  is  there  still  called 
"The  Friend  of  God."  His  tomb  is  the  most  sacred 
trust  of  the  Arabs.  He  was  promised  a  land  and 
people.     So  it  has  come  to  pass.     That  land  is  Israel's. 


128  The   Bible  As  It  Is 

It  is  now  desolate,  but  no  other  people  have  a  right  to 
it.  It  was  given  by  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  to 
Abraham  and  his  seed  forever,  and  theirs  it  is.  He 
was  promised  a  great  people,  as  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  as  the  stars  of  heaven.  Mil- 
lions have  come  from  him,  but  the  great  fulfilment 
awaits  in  the  future.  The  spiritual  seed  of  Abraham 
will  far  outnumber  all  others  (Rom.  4:11). 

In  the  battle  of  the  confederated  kings  under 
Chederlaomar,  King  of  Elam,  Abraham  meets  the 
first  king  of  united  Babylonia.  These  names,  that 
they  possessed  power  in  Canaan,  that  their  vassals 
there  rebelled  and  that  they  invaded  Canaan,  are  all 
told  on  the  Assyrian  tablets,  although  this  particular 
battle  is  not  mentioned.  This  battle  is  typical.  The 
Church  meets  the  world  in  conflict.  The  enemy  has 
never  forgotten  nor  forgiven  the  Church  that  defeat, 
and  afterwards  the  Church  was  oppressed  by  that  same 
Babylon. 

In  Melchisedek,  Abraham  recognizes  a  priest  of  the 
Most  High  God.  He  pays  tithes  to  him.  Melchise- 
dek was  acting  under  the  covenant  made  with  Noah, 
which  was  for  mankind  at  large  and  prevailed  even 
for  Abraham  until  his  own  covenant  came  into  force. 
Melchisedek  represents  that  old  world's  religion  which 
prevailed  until  the  covenant  of  Abraham  came  in. 

It  is  in  the  relations  of  Abraham  to  the  Church  that 
we  see  the  greatness  of  that  covenant.  Paul  makes  it 
the  basis  of  the  Church.  To  Abraham  was  the  gospel 
preached  (Gal.  3:8).     He  was  the  first  to  believe  the 


Abraham  129 

gospel  so  preached  (Rom.  4:  11).  His  faith  is  the 
standard  faith.  His  conversion  is  three  times  quoted 
in  scripture  (Rom.  4:3;  Gal.  3:6;  Jas.  2 :  23). 
As  he  was  justified  so  are  we.  He  is  the  father  of  all 
that  believe  (Rom.  4:^1;  Gal.  3:7).  All  that 
believe  are  blessed  with  Abraham  (Gal.  3:9).  His 
covenant  is  the  basis  of  God's  grace  to  the  Gentiles 
(Gal.  3  :  14).  The  law  was  an  interregnum  which  was 
temporary  in  its  work  and  sway.  This  has  been  swept 
away  and  on  the  Abrahamic  foundation  Paul  builds 
the  gospel  of  grace.  Christ  was  typified  in  Isaac. 
He  was  that  Seed  (Gal.  3=16).  It  is  through  the 
Church  that  Abraham  is  to  become  the  father  of 
many  nations  (Rom.  4:  16,  17). 

However  far  the  stream  of  grace  shall  flow,  it  can 
never  leave  the  channel  of  the  Abrahamic  cove- 
nant. We  are  to  believe  in  the  continuity  of  God's 
plan.  The  names  of  Abraham's  seed  are  to  be  on  the 
twelve  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  the  promise 
that  his  seed  shall  be  as  the  stars  of  heaven  points  to 
the  glory  of  the  resurrection  saints  as  well  as  to  other 
worlds  than  ours.  The  universe  is  to  be  a  partaker  of 
the  blessing  of  Abraham's  covenant. 

4.  Abraham's  Place  and  Character. 
His  greatness  is  not  in  what  he  is  or  has  himself 
alone.  He  had  faults.  His  prevarication  twice  about 
Sarah,  his  marriage  to  Hagar  and  after  to  Keturah  did 
not  add  to  his  happiness  or  fame.  The  sons  of  these 
wives   turned   out   to  be  the  enemies  of  Isaac's  de- 


ijo  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

scendants.  Sarah,  too,  was  far  from  perfect.  She 
was  to  blame  in  the  matter  of  Pharoah  and  Abimelech. 
The  latter  used  gentle  irony  in  sending  her  a  thousand 
pieces  of  silver  to  buy  a  veil  with  (20  :  16).  Abraham 
was  absent  from  her  when  she  died  and  had  ap- 
parently been  absent  some  time  (22:19;   23  :  2). 

It  was  the  covenant  that  made  Abraham  great.  By  it 
he  was  to  become  a  blessing  to  all  the  earth.  Here  is 
an  answer  to  that  charge  of  favoritism  sometimes  made 
against  the  choice  of  Israel  for  such  favors  from  Jehovah 
and  her  place  in  the  Bible.  It  is  the  great  plan  of 
God  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  That  it  has  thus 
resulted,  we  have  seen.  That  it  will  be  even  more 
of  such  a  blessing,  time  will  show.  The  Old  Testament 
is  therefore  not  narrow,  but  is  a  world  book  full  of 
world  plans  for  man's  welfare. 

Abraham  is  the  Church  in  embryo.  He  is  chosen, 
called  and  saved.  He  is  made  the  depository  of  the 
covenant,  and  the  faith  of  the  Church  is  his.  He 
travels  the  pilgrim  path  as  the  Church  does  still.  He 
lives  in  a  land  which  is  to  be  his  in  the  future,  as  the 
Church  has  her  inheritance  in  the  same  future. 

In  Sarah,  too,  there  is  an  allegory  (Gal.  4:  22-31). 
Sarah  is  the  covenant  of  grace,  Hagar  that  of  bondage 
gendering  only  to  bondage.  Isaac  can  come  only 
from  Sarah,  so  hope  for  the  future  can  come  only 
from  the  New  Covenant.  There  is  in  the  history  of 
Isaac  a  trivial  incident  which  is  made  the  starting-point 
of  a  great  period.  At  Isaac's  weaning  feast,  Ishmael 
mocks,  probably  at  his  promised  future.     Ishmael  and 


Abraham  1 3 1 

his  mother  are  cast  out.  It  is  the  beginning  of  the 
trouble  of  the  chosen  seed.  In  that  small  event  the 
spirit  of  antagonism  and  unbelief  is  as  truly  seen  as  in 
the  great  wars  which  followed  between  the  people  of 
Isaac  and  their  own  connections.  Personally  it  does  not 
amount  to  a  permanent  breach,  for  Ishmael  and  Isaac 
are  together  at  the  burial  of  Abraham.  But  Ishmael' s 
nature  is  thus  clearly  seen  in  boyhood.  Modern 
psychology  tells  us  that  the  character  is  fixed  as  early 
as  seven  years  of  age. 

This  great  blessing  and  place  came  to  Abraham 
because  of  his  faith  attested  by  his  obedience.  His 
faith  was  that  what  God  had  promised  he  was  able  to 
perform.  He  believed  what  God  promised,  accepted 
all  as  his  own  and  acted  accordingly.  He  therefore 
obeyed  God's  commands  as  they  came  to  him.  He 
was  not  a  perfect  character.  He  had  faults  many, 
but  he  had  faith  in  God  and  this  justified  him  with 
God.  All  our  blessings  must  come  in  like  manner. 
We  are  asked  to  beHeve  in  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  do,  we 
will  act  accordingly.  If  we  do  not  act  accordingly,  we 
are  not  counted  as  believing  (Jas.  2  :  18-26).  The 
fulness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  promised  to  the  faith 
which,  like  Abraham's,  takes  hold  of  God's  promises 
(Gal.  3:  14). 

There  are  degrees  in  the  apprehension  of  truth  and 
consequently  of  blessing.  There  are  stages  of  bless- 
ing. If  Abraham  had  stopped  at  certain  points,  he 
would  have  had  some  of  the  blessing,  but  not  the  fulness 
of  it.     It  was  his  perseverance  which  won  the  cove- 


1-^2 


The  Bible  As  It  Is 


nant.  By  faith  they  "  obtained  promises  "  is  recorded 
of  such  (Heb.  ii  :  ^^).  Abraham  had  not  only  a 
general  idea  of  God  and  His  power  and  goodness,  but 
he  apprehended  the  gospel.  He  gave  Isaac  to  be  of- 
fered expecting  God  would  raise  him  from  the  dead, 
from  which  in  a  figure  he  was  raised  (Heb.  ii  :  19). 
Isaac  is  a  type  of  Christ  in  the  submissive  giving  of 
himself  up  to  the  Father. 

Abraham  apprehended  Christ.  He  tells  us,  "  Your 
father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day,  he  saw  it  and 
was  glad  "  (John  8  :  56).  He  foresaw  the  coming  of 
the  Mediator,  the  one  that  Job  longed  for,  that  one  prom- 
ised in  Eden,  but  scarcely  understood  until  Abraham 
came  and  realized  the  Coming  One.  Abraham  had 
also  a  knowledge  of  heaven.  "  He  looked  for  the 
city  that  hath  the  foundations  "  (Heb.  11  :  10).  His 
vision  penetrated  eternity. 

We  are  to  follow  the  history  of  the  people  who  de- 
scended from  Abraham  and  we  will  see  that  all  that 
came  to  them  of  blessing  came  because  of  this  great 
covenant.  It  was  constantly  appealed  to  -both  by 
Jehovah,  when  He  called  them  to  repentance,  and  by 
the  people,  when  they  called  for  deliverance.  Its 
workings  in  grace  will  be  seen  as  soon  as  we  enter  the 
history  of  the  children  of  Abraham. 

Lot  is  associated  with  Abraham  and  is  to  be  con- 
sidered in  connection  with  his  history.  He  is  Abra- 
ham's nephew  and  charge.  He,  however,  becomes 
independent  in  property  and  following.  He  separates 
from  Abraham  before  the  covenant  is  sealed,  and  so 


Abraham  133 

separates  himself  from  its  blessings.  He  pitches  to- 
wards Sodom,  and  at  last  enters  and  resides  there, 
and  is  a  judge  sitting  in  its  gate  and  marries  probably, 
a  woman  of  Sodom.  He  does  all  for  gain  and  loses  all 
thereby.  He  escapes  with  his  life  and  daughters,  who, 
doubtless  contaminated  by  Sodom's  disgraceful  life, 
bring  disgrace  upon  themselves.  Lot's  descendants 
are  Israel's  enemies  to  the  end.  Lot  is  an  illustration 
of  the  fact  that  nearness  to  means  of  grace  does  not 
necessarily  bring  grace  to  the  heart  or  life.  Ishmael 
and  Esau  are  also  such  instances. 

Ishmael  is  not  forgotten,  though  not  included  in  the 
special  blessings  of  the  covenant.  That  father's  prayer, 
"Oh,  that  Ishmael  might  live  before  thee,"  was  heard. 
It  has  been  answered.  The  knowledge  of  God  has  never 
died  out  of  Ishmael's  people. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

JACOB 

Genesis  24-36. 

We  pass  from  Abraham  to  Jacob  because  Isaac  has 
a  small  space  in  the  narrative.  He  has  only  one 
chapter  exclusively  devoted  to  him.  He  has  but  a 
single  event  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  his 
blessing  his  sons.  He  is  the  submissive  and  passive 
character  of  the  Bible.  He  is  mocked  by  Ishmael  when 
a  child,  is  offered  unresistingly  as  a  sacrifice ;  his  wife 
is  chosen  for  him ;  he  gives  up  the  wells  one  after  an- 
other unresistingly,  and  settles  only  when  let  alone ;  he 
is  deceived  by  his  son.  He  is  a  type  of  Christ  in  his 
humiliation  and  in  his  sacrifice.  But,  as  the  time  for 
the  full  revelation  of  Christ's  humiliation  has  not  yet 
come,  Isaac  is  passed  in  scripture  with  minor  mention. 

Events  of  Isaac's  Life.  Promised,  17  :  21.  Birth, 
21:2.  Offered,  22.  Marriage,  24.  Heirship, 
25:6-11.  Sons'  Birth,  25:  21-26.  The  Wells, 
26  :  1-32.     Deceived  by  Jacob,  Blesses  Sons,  27. 

I.     Jacob's  Place. 

Jacob  occupies  a  large  place  in  scripture.     His  name 

as  Israel  occurs  more  often  than  any  other  save  that  of 

God.     It  is  this  name  by  which  the  chosen  race  are 

134 


Jacob  ^35 

called.  Seven  great  revelations  are  given  him  and 
such  visions  as  Abraham  never  had.  Angels  appear 
to  him  again  and  again.  He  sees  heaven  open  and 
the  ladder  dropped  at  his  feet,  and  angels  descend 
upon  him  as  on  Christ  afterwards  (Gen  28  :  12; 
John  1 :  31).  An  angel  allows  him  to  wrestle  with 
him  and  wrest  a  blessing  from  him. 

We  are  compelled  to  ask  who  and  what  manner  of 
man  this  was  to  whom  such  favors  are  shown  and 
whose  name  is  so  immortal.  We  are  met  at  the  out- 
set by  surprise  and  disappointment.  Scarcely  a  good 
or  noble  trait  appears  in  him,  and  the  charge  rests 
against  him  of  taking  advantage  of  his  brother,  ot  de- 
ceiving his  aged  father,  of  advantage  taken  of  his 
employer  and  relative. 

It  is  not  on  his  own  account  that  he  is  blessed,  and 
when  we  ask  for  other  reason  we  are  made  to  see  that 
it  is  because  he  is  an  inheritor  under  the  great  cove- 
nant. Jacob  is  the  one  great  Bible  illustration  of  free, 
undeserved  sovereign  grace.  Without  a  single  re- 
deeming quality,  he  obtains  all  the  wealth  of  that  great 
covenant  won  by  such  heroic  efforts  and  faith,  sealed 
by  Isaac's  self-immolation,  and  now  poured  out  on  this 
miserable  character  as  if  he  deserved  it  all !  He 
therefore  represents  all  who  are  saved  by  grace.  His 
name  therefore  is  properly  given  the  people  of  God. 
Spiritually  we  are  all  the  children  of  Israel. 

He  is  so  favored,  in  the  purpose  of  God,  before  his 
birth,  so  that  there  may  not  be  the  slightest  ground 
for  attributing  to  him  some  real  or  imagined  good- 


136  The   Bible  As   It  Is 

ness  for  which  he  is  chosen  or  favored.  He  is  one  of 
twins.  Of  these  one  is  chosen  and  that  is  Jacob. 
"For  the  children,  being  not  yet  born,  neither  hav- 
ing done  anything  good  or  bad,  that  the  purpose  of 
God  according  to  election  might  stand,  not  of  works, 
but  of  him  that  calleth,  it  was  said  unto  her,  [his 
mother].  The  elder  shall  serve  the  younger.  Even  as 
it  is  written,  Jacob  have  I  called  loved,  Esau  have  I 
hated  "  (Rom.  9  :  11-13).  He  is  made  therefore  the 
representative  of  all  the  subjects  of  grace,  that  is  of  us 
all,  for  we  also  are  saved  by  grace  and  not  by  works. 
He  is  a  type  of  the  Church,  as  Israel  was  of  Christ. 
If  Abraham,  in  offering  Isaac,  is  a  type  of  the  Father 
offering  His  Son,  Isaac  undoubtedly  being  a  type  of 
Christ  in  His  sacrifice,  then  we  have  here  the  unity 
of  Father,  Son  and  Church  by  the  Spirit  which  Christ  so 
loved  to  dwell  upon.  "  That  they  may  be  one  even  as 
we  are.  .  .  .  That  they  may  all  be  one,  even  as 
thou  Father  art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  in  us.  .  .  .  That  they  may  be  one 
even  as  we  are  one ;  I  in  them  and  thou  in  me,  that 
they  may  be  perfected  into  one"  (John  17  :  11,  21,  23). 
The  history  of  Jacob  will  also  show  the  human  side 
of  the  Church  in  its  evils  and  errors  and  consequent 
chastisements,  which  follow  Jacob's  story.  His  his- 
tory is  not  one  of  victory  in  himself. 

2.     Jacob's  History. 
With  this  view  of  Jacob  we  will  follow  his  life. 
It  may  be  best  learned,  as  was  Abraham's,  by  the 


Jacob 


137 


chapters, 

to  keep  the  continuity  and  order  of  events, 

as  well  as 

to  keep  the  whole  patriarchal  narrative  in 

due  ordei 

\     Taking  key  words  we  find  the  following 

chapter  headings : 

Ch.  24 

His  Mother. 

Ch.  25 

Birth.     Birthright. 

Ch.  26 

Isaac. 

Ch.  27 

Blessing. 

Ch.  28 

Flight.     Vision.     Bethel. 

Ch.  29 

Laban.     Rachel.     Leah.     Sons. 

Ch.  30 

Sons.     Cattle. 

Ch.  31 

Flight.     Laban. 

Ch.  32 

Mahanaim.     Peniel. 

Ch.  33 

Esau.     Shechem. 

Ch.  34 

Simeon  and  Levi. 

Ch.  35 

.     Bethel.     Benjamin. 

Ch.  36 

.     Esau's  People. 

Ch.  37 

.     Joseph's  Loss. 

Ch.  38 

.     Judah's  Sin. 

Chs.  3( 

^-47.     Famine  and  Egypt. 

Chs.  4^ 

I,  49.     Blesses  Sons.     Death. 

Seven  distinct  revelations  are  given  him.  At  leav- 
ing home  (28  :  10-20).  Leaving  Laban  (31 :  3).  Two 
before  meeting  Esau  (32 :  2,  24-32).  At  Shechem 
(35  :  i).  Bethel  (35  :  9).  On  going  to  Egypt  (46 :  2). 
The  focal  points  of  this  narrative  are  his  obtaining  of  the 
birthright  and  blessing ;  his  prayer  at  Bethel ;  his  prayer 
at  Peniel ;  his  return  to  Bethel ;  his  dying  blessing. 
The  latter  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  dwells  on  as 
alone  worthy  of  mention  (Heb.  11 :  21). 


138  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

3.     Jacob's  Character. 

In  his  personal  character  some  features  call  for 
special  mention.  With  all  his  evil  conduct  he  is  a 
spiritual  man.  The  same  strange  union  of  the  flesh 
and  the  spirit  is  seen  in  all  Christians.  He  is  con- 
trasted with  Esau,  a  purely  natural  man  who  has  had  no 
conflict,  but  has  some  natural  good  qualities.  Jacob 
shows  his  spiritual  nature  in  seeking  the  birthright 
and  in  his  prayer.  His  vow  at  Bethel  and  his  return 
to  it  speak  of  the  presence  of  the  spiritual  nature ;  and, 
above  all,  this  nature  is  shown  in  his  prayer  at  Peniel 
and  his  struggle  with  the  angel.  God  Himself  recog- 
nizes the  latter  as  an  evidence  of  spiritual  power  and 
rewards  him  for  it. 

But  with  the  spiritual  nature,  Jacob  has  human  na- 
ture, and  that  of  a  most  unlovely  quality.  He  is  self- 
ish and  crafty  and  deceitful  and  carnal.  It  is  the 
flesh  and  the  spirit  in  the  same  individual.  Two 
natures  of  antagonistic  characters  in  one  person.  The 
flesh  lusting  against  the  spirit  and  the  spirit  against 
the  flesh.  It  is  seen  in  every  believer ;  and  not  until 
the  flesh  is  crucified  and  Christ  given  full  control  is 
there  victory  (Gal.  5  :    17-25). 

Jacob  suffers  in  his  family  and  in  his  life.  He 
realized  the  after  statement,  "  He  that  soweth  to  the 
flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption."  In  his  life 
is  sorrow  for  the  wrong-doings  of  his  children.  They 
treat  their  brother  and  him  as  he  treated  his  father 
and  his  brother.  He  is  deceived  by  his  wife,  and 
idols  are  in  his  home.     He  ends  his  life  in  a  strange 


Jacob  139 

land,  and  he  has  to  say,  *'  all  these  things  are  against 
me ;  few  and  evil  have  been  the  days  and  the  years 
of  my  life. ' '  It  might  have  been  different ;  for  all 
would  have  come  to  him  without  his  scheming  and 
deception  and  trickery.  God  needs  no  such  help  to 
bring  about  His  purposes.  God  chastens  those  He 
loves  and  He  says,  ''Jacob  have  I  loved."  God  is 
faithful  to  His  own  in  chastisement  as  well  as  in  favor 
and  blessing. 

4.     Jacob's  Twelve  Sons. 

The  twelve  sons  of  Jacob  should  be  noticed,  as  in 
them  are  found  the  germs  of  future  nations ;  and  from 
their  character,  their  conduct,  their  maternal  ancestry 
and  the  dying  blessing  of  their  father,  Jacob,  the  nation 
takes  its  character  and  its  whole  history  is  shaped. 
The  twelve  sons  are  as  follows  : 

Leah's  sons,  Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  Judah,  Issachar, 
Zebulun. 

The  sons  of  Bilhah,  Rachel's  maid,  Dan,  Naphtali. 

Sons  of  Zilpah,  Leah's  maid.  Gad,  Asher. 

Rachel's  sons,  Joseph,  Benjamin. 

The  first-born,  Reuben,  lost  his  place  as  the  favored 
one  by  primogeniture,  by  wrong-doing.  Judah  ob- 
tains the  leadership  by  his  favor  to  Joseph.  He  is 
the  leading  tribe  from  whom  the  rulers  came  and  the 
Messiah.  That  this  place  is  not  from  his  own  char- 
acter is  seen  from  his  own  unworthy  conduct  in  chap- 
ter 38.  The  jealousy  between  the  wives  of  Jacob  is 
the  source  of  the  after-divisions  between  the  sons  and 


I40  The  Bible, As  It  Is 

the  tribes,  the  spUt  of  the  kingdom  into  two  parts, 
the  wars  between  them,  the  final  separation  for  all 
these  centuries  and  the  loss  of  the  ten  tribes.  All  this 
can  be  traced  to  the  two  wives  and  their  jealousy  re- 
lated here.  Polygamy  brought  Jacob  misery  as  it 
does  everywhere.  Judah  was  the  leading  tribe  of  Leah's 
sons,  and  Ephraim,  Joseph's  son,  the  leading  tribe 
of  Rachel's  sons,  and  these  two  were  antagonists 
always  (Isa.  ii  :  13).  The  inferior  tribes  are  from  the 
handmaids  and  these  rally  about  the  respective  wives 
and  their  sons.  The  idolatry  of  Israel  began  with 
Ephraim,  and  it  was  in  Rachel's  keeping  that  the  idols 
were  which  were  stolen  from  Laban  (Gen.  31  :  34). 
We  see  here  the  far-reaching  effects  of  family  life. 


CHAPTER  IX 

JOSEPH 

Genesis  36-50. 

Joseph,  the  eleventh  son  of  Jacob,  occupies  the  place 
of  interest  after  his  father  and  it  is  about  him  that  the 
narrative  centres.  It  is  under  his  care  that  they  are 
saved  from  famine  and  brought  to  Egypt  and  there 
increase  to  a  nation.  The  story  of  Joseph  is  one  of 
the  most  dramatic  in  all  scripture.  It  is  true  to  the 
Eastern  life  and  conditions  in  which  it  is  placed.  It 
could  only  have  been  written  by  one  with  the  facts  be- 
fore him.  The  coat  of  many  colors  which  his  father 
gave  him  was  often  used  for  favored  children ;  such 
coats  have  been  found  in  tombs  and  indeed  are  some- 
times used  to-day.  The  pit  into  which  they  put  him 
was  a  dry  cistern,  such  as  abound  in  that  country. 
Arabian  caravans  pass  through  the  land  to-day  and 
would  buy  such  a  slave  now.  The  price  is  that  for  a 
slave  under  twenty-five  years  of  age.  In  the  Egyptian 
part  of  the  narrative  are  over  two  hundred  points  of 
correspondence  with  Egyptian  conditions.  The  story 
of  Joseph  itself  is  reflected  in  an  Egyptian  story  of 
<'The  Two  Brothers,"  which  resembles  it,  and  is 
doubtless  an  Egyptian  rendering  of  the  same  occur- 
141 


142  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

rences,  as  so  many  of  such  old  traditions  are.    This  we 
have  seen  in  the  stories  of  the  Fall  and  the  Deluge. 

The  life  of  Joseph  should  be  studied  on  three 
lines:  i.  His  personal  history  and  character.  2.  As 
representative  of  the  nation.  3.  Prophetically  and 
typically. 

I.     Joseph's  History. 

The  personal  story  may  be  best  learned  by  the 
chapters.  These  will  keep  the  order  of  events  in 
mind. 

Ch.  30.     Joseph's  Birth. 

Ch.  37.     Dreams.     Betrayal. 

Ch.  39.     In  Egypt.     With  Potiphar.      In  Prison. 

Ch.  40.     Pharaoh's  Butler  and  Baker. 

Ch.  41.  Pharaoh's  Dreams.  Joseph's  Release. 
Famine. 

Ch.  42.     Joseph's  Brethren. 

Chs.  43,  44.     Benjamin. 

Ch.  45.     Joseph  Revealed. 

Ch.  46.     Jacob  Comes.     His  Family. 

Ch.  47.     Jacob  and  Pharaoh.     The  Famine. 

Ch.  48.     Jacob  Blesses  Joseph's  Sons. 

Ch.  49.     Jacob  Blesses  His  Sons.     Dies. 

Ch.  50.     Burial  of  Jacob.     Joseph  Dies. 

The  discoveries  of  archaeology  in  Egypt  have  given 
light  upon  his  life  in  that  land  of  intense  interest. 
Joseph's  life  was  that  of  an  Egyptian  prince.  It  can 
scarcely  be  too  highly  colored.  Egypt  was  far  in 
advance   in   civilization.     Joseph   lived   in   a  palace 


Joseph  143 

adorned  with  paintings,  surrounded  with  a  paradise  of 
palms  and  tropical  plants.  There  were  couches  adorned 
with  ebony,  ivory  and  gilding ;  vases  of  gold,  bronze, 
ivory  and  crystal ;  perfumes  from  alabaster  cups ;  soft 
carpets  and  costly  furs.  He  was  attended  by  hundreds 
of  trained  slaves,  and  had  the  luxuries  of  the  world  at 
his  command.  There  were  acrobats,  dancers,  musicians 
to  amuse  him,  a  great  estate  with  its  animals  and  poultry 
of  every  kind,  a  menagerie  of  wild  beasts  gathered  and 
kept  for  the  royal  pleasure.  Garlands  of  roses  and 
wreaths  of  lotus  blossoms  were  placed  upon  the  necks 
and  heads  of  the  guests,  while  choirs  and  orchestras 
entertained  them  during  the  feast.  It  was  to  such  a 
ruler,  in  such  surroundings,  that  Joseph's  brethren  were 
introduced.  The  effect  on  the  rustics  from  Canaan  may 
be  imagined,  especially  when  that  princely  ruler  said 
to  them  as  they  tremblingly  awaited  their  fate,  "  I  am 
Joseph  your  brother." 

The  noticeable  facts  as  to  Joseph's  character 
are  his  goodness  in  youth  at  home,  his  fidelity  in 
places  of  trust  (39  :  6),  resistance  of  temptation 
(39  '•  8),  wisdom  in  administering  affairs  (41  :  48),  his 
love  for  his  cruel  brethren  (45).  His  godly  character 
was  the  source  of  all.  ''God  was  with  him" 
(Acts  7 :  9),  is  the  keynote  to  his  history  and 
character. 

He  shows  his  faith  as  well  as  his  hope  of  their  re- 
lease from  Egypt,  which  with  all  its  luxuries  is  noth- 
ing to  him  beside  the  land  of  the  covenant,  and  this 
gives  him  his  great  place  as  hero  of  faith  more  than  all 


144  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

else  he  did  (Heb.  ii  :  22).  His  body  is  therefore 
embalmed  and  carried  up  out  of  Egypt,  not  at  the 
time  of  his  death  as  with  Jacob,  but  at  their  release. 

2.  Joseph's  Place  in  Israel. 
Joseph  is  the  representative  of  the  coming  nation. 
He  is  sent  in  prevenient  grace  to  deliver  them  in  the 
time  of  famine,  the  director  of  their  course.  Here  we 
see  the  hand  of  God.  It  was  to  this  that  the  strange 
dreams  of  his  youth  pointed.  It  was  for  this  specially 
that  "  God  was  with  him."  It  was  here  that  his  great 
character  was  so  needed.  Abraham  was  their  father 
spiritually,  Jacob  physically,  Joseph  providentially. 
The  increase  of  the  family  to  twelve  sons  and  sixty 
grandsons,  with  all  their  wives,  made  a  settlement  for 
the  time  necessary.  It  needed  to  be  where  food  was 
plentiful,  the  necessity  for  increase  of  man  or  beast  or 
plant,  where  protection  for  the  young  nation  could  be 
had  in  that  unsettled  time,  where  education  also  was 
to  be  obtained  for  those  who  were  to  be  such  a  people. 
No  land  offered  all  these  as  did  Egypt.  Therefore  to 
Egypt  they  were  taken.  All  Joseph's  eventful  life  was 
just  part  of  the  great  divine  plan  to  promote  the 
growth  of  the  nation,  as  promised  Abraham.  We  see 
the  covenant  now  operating  in  blessing.  Joseph  was 
the  administrator  for  the  time  of  that  covenant. 

3.     Joseph  Prophetically  and  Typically. 
Joseph   was   a   typical   or   prophetic    character  of 
which  scripture  shows  a  succession  and  which  it  is 


Joseph  14  J 

important  to  study  if  we  would  learn  its  meaning. 
The  dreams  in  which  he  sees  the  sheaves  all  bowing 
down  to  his  sheaf,  and  the  sun,  moon  and  planets  all 
bowing  to  him,  were  prophetic  of  his  future  glory 
and  mark  him  as  a  prophetic  character. 

It  requires  but  little  insight  to  see  the  strange  par- 
allel between  Joseph's  life  and  that  of  Jesus.  Each 
is  beloved  of  his  father,  each  hated  and  betrayed  and 
sold  by  his  brethren,  and  each  by  this  act  of  betrayal 
becomes  their  deliverer.  Each  goes  down  into 
Egypt  in  youth,  and  each  rises  to  royal  dignity  and 
becomes  his  people's  saviour.  Each  operated  under  a 
great  covenant  and  each  looked  forward  to  a  resurrec- 
tion day  and  another  land  (Heb.  11 :  22).  Each  is  a 
stranger  in  a  strange  land,  and  that  the  land  of  bond- 
age of  the  soul.  The  woman  in  the  Apocalypse  clothed 
in  the  sun  and  crowned  with  the  stars  (Rev.  12)  is 
Israel  glorified,  which  Joseph  saw  in  type,  in  his  dream 
of  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars  (Gen  37  :  9).  The  reve- 
lation of  Joseph  to  his  brethren  is  to  be  reen acted  when 
Jesus,  their  now  rejected  Messiah,  shall  be  revealed  to 
the  chosen  people  as  their  long  rejected  brother.  Then 
will  be  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Zech.  1 2  :  10-14.  They 
shall  "  look  upon  Him  whom  they  have  pierced  and  they 
shall  mourn  for  Him."  With  Him  they  will  then  rise 
to  glory. 

There  is  no  other  such  complete  parallel  of  the 
whole  work  of  Christ  for  His  people  in  scripture.  No 
one  can  consider  these  correspondences  without  being 
impressed   that   they   form   a  prophecy.      Therefore 


146  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Joseph  is  one  of  the  great  Messianic  characters  of 
scripture  and  is  to  be  given  study  accordingly.  To 
be  sure,  there  is  no  direct  scriptural  mention  of  Joseph 
as  such  a  Messianic  character ;  yet  this  is  not  excep- 
tional, for  there  are  many  such.  Indeed  all  scriptural 
characters  are  in  some  measure  reflections  of  the  glory 
of  the  coming  Saviour.  Joseph  can  at  least  be  used 
as  illustrative  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  EXODUS 
Exodus  1-15. 

Here  begins  the  history  of  Israel  as  a  nation.  Up 
to  this  it  is  a  family  we  have  studied.  The  Exodus 
made  them  a  nation.  This  therefore  is  the  great 
event  of  their  history.  Scripture  is  full  of  it.  The 
books  of  the  Pentateuch  after  Genesis  are  occupied 
with  the  events  of  this  time.  Two  great  parts  appear 
in  these  books,  i.  History.  2.  Legislation.  The 
historical  part  tells  their  story  from  Egypt  to  Canaan ; 
the  legislative  part,  the  laws  given  them  at  this  time. 
These  should  be  studied  separately,  the  historical  first. 

The  historical  part  must  be  gathered  out  of  the 
four  books.  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers  and  Deute- 
ronomy, but  principally  from  Exodus  and  Numbers. 
It  should  be  read  first  consecutively,  omitting  the 
legislative  parts,  so  as  to  secure  the  whole  narrative 
in  unbroken  order. 

The  order  of  study  to  be  followed  is  as  follows : 
I.  Their  state  in  Egypt,  chapter  i.  2.  Moses,  chap- 
ters 2-4.  3.  Pharaoh  and  the  Plagues,  chapters  5-1 1. 
4.  Passover,  chapters  12,  13.  5.  Exodus,  chapter 
12-15.  6-  The  wilderness  journey.  Exodus  1 6  to  end  ; 
Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuteronomy. 
147 


148  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

I.  Their  State  in  Egypt. 
The  exodus  and  accompanying  facts  form  a  well- 
attested  narrative.  That  Israel  was  in  Egypt,  that 
they  left  it  and  went  to  Canaan  is  accepted  by  all. 
The  Egyptian  part  is  true  to  the  time  and  place.  It 
could  only  have  been  written  by  one  familiar  with  the 
facts  and  on  the  ground.  The  facts  of  history  also 
are  in  agreement  with  the  Bible  record.  When  Joseph 
and  his  brethren  went  to  Egypt,  it  was  ruled  by  a 
friendly  dynasty,  the  Hyksos  kings,  of  the  same  gen- 
eral race  as  Israel  and  called  the  Shepherd  Kings  in 
reproach  by  the  Egyptians,  whom  they  strangely  and 
completely  and  easily  conquered  some  time  before. 
This  accounts  in  part  for  the  friendly  reception  of 
Joseph  and  his  brethren.  The  oppression  of  Israel 
was  caused  by  the  expulsion  of  this  friendly  dynasty 
and  the  return  of  the  native  dynasty  to  power.  Of 
these  was  the  king  '*  who  knew  not  Joseph."  The 
special  oppression  in  the  making  of  brick  was  under 
that  greatest  of  all  builders  of  Egypt,  Rameses  II, 
who  built  more  than  all  others  together.  There  are 
found  on  the  monuments  of  Egypt  the  pictures,  of  the 
semitic-faced  laborers  such  as  Israel  was,  with  all  the 
details  of  their  oppression.  The  buildings  show  the 
facts  also.  The  ruins  of  the  '* treasure  cities"  show 
the  facts  of  the  account.  In  the  ruins  of  the  granaries 
at  Pithom,  the  lowest  layers  of  brick  work  are  laid  with 
brick  made  with  straw,  the  next  with  brick  made  with 
'*  stubble  "  or  reeds,  the  upper  with  bricks  made  without 
either.     This  exactly  agrees  with  the  scripture  account. 


The  Exodus  149 

A  long  period  of  silence  follows  the  death  of 
Joseph.  They  increased  into  a  nation  by  the  quiet, 
safe  and  well-fed  life  in  Egypt.  They  were  also  learn- 
ing of  Egypt's  civilization,  the  effects  of  which  they 
showed  in  after  life.  They  were,  at  leaving,  far  from 
the  rustic  people  they  were  at  coming.  That  splendid 
civilization  certainly  was  an  education.  The  Egyp- 
tians could  calculate  eclipses,  knew  geometry,  chem- 
istry, anatomy,  architecture,  mining,  all  kinds  of  ag- 
riculture, horticulture  and  care  of  cattle,  used  the 
most  exquisite  articles  of  household  furniture,  carpets 
and  couches.  They  used  glass  surpassing  the  best  Vene- 
tian forms,  and  pictures  made  of  feather  work,  requir- 
ing the  most  powerful  microscope  to  discern  the  parts. 
They  used  chisels,  drills,  planes  and  cutting  tools  of 
every  kind.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  any 
nation  of  any  ability  to  have  been  in  daily  contact 
with  all  this  and  not  be  taught  some  of  it.  It  was  for 
this,  for  one  reason,  that  the  chosen  people  were  sent 
to  Egypt,  the  mother  of  learning. 

Socially  the  Israelites  were  a  separate  people  although 
they  spread  through  the  land.  Their  language,  race, 
and  especially  their  affinity  with  the  hated  Hyksos  kings, 
would  keep  them  separate.  Many  of  them  retained 
their  pastoral  life  and  roamed  over  the  eastern  wilder- 
ness. Some  even  raided  into  Canaan  (i  Chron.  7  : 
21-24),  perhaps  trying  to  force  the  promised  return. 
Politically  they  were  an  alien  as  well  as  an  inferior 
race.  They  retained  their  tribal  and  community  life. 
They  had  their  elders  and  other  rulers  at  the  close  of 


150  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

their  stay  in  Egypt  as  all  such  peoples  then  had  and 
still  have  to-day. 

Religiously  they  had  the  memory  of  their  fathers' 
religion.  Some,  as  the  parents  of  Moses,  "  feared 
God."  Moses  himself  kept  the  faith.  They  had  the 
memory  of  the  land  from  whence  they  came  and  the 
hope  of  returning  to  it.  But  most  had  lost  their  vital 
piety.  They  did  not,  however,  fall  into  the  idolatry 
of  Egypt.  That  was  too  degraded  for  such  a  people 
to  adopt.  The  worship  of  cattle  and  cats  and  croco- 
diles disgusted  them,  and,  as  they  believed  themselves 
of  a  superior  race,  that  also  kept  them  from  that  base 
religion.  If  they  practiced  idolatry  it  was  that  of  the 
nations  from  which  they  sprang,  as  Canaan  or  Ur 
whence  Abraham  came. 

We  notice  the  lesson  that  God  prepared  the  people 
for  leaving  Egypt  by  the  hardships  of  the  oppression. 
It  was  a  delightful  land  and  in  peace  they  would  not 
care  to  leave  it,  and  would  ever  turn  to  it  again  in  the 
trials  of  the  wilderness.  Even  as  it  was,  they  looked 
back  to  it  at  times  with  longing.  They  never  could 
fulfil  God's  purpose  for  them  and  for  mankind  in 
Egypt.  The  believer  in  the  world  is  in  the  same  posi- 
tion. "  Come  out  from  among  them  and  be  ye  sep- 
arate "  is  God's  call  to  His  people  at  all  times. 

2.     Moses. 
When  God  designs  to  bless  His  people,  He  raises  up 
an    instrument    and    generally   from    among    them. 
Moses  was  His  appointed  and   prepared   leader   for 


The  Exodus 


151 


Israel's  deliverance.  He  was  Israel's  Washington. 
His  life  may  be  divided  into  three  parts  of  equal 
length,  in  Egypt  forty  years,  in  Midian  forty  years,  in 
the  Wilderness  forty  years.  The  first  two  were  neces- 
sary to  prepare  him  for  his  work  which  lay  in  the  last 
third  of  his  life. 

I.  His  birth  and  strange  childhood  are  familiar  sto- 
ries. We  see  in  this  the  direct  hand  of  God.  Such  a 
leader  needed  training  of  two  kinds  :  first,  the  education 
of  a  secular  kind  needed  for  the  great  national  leadership 
he  was  to  assume;  second,  the  spiritual  education 
needed  in  the  same  sphere.  The  first  was  given  him 
in  Pharaoh's  palace  under  the  best  of  Egypt's  teach- 
ers. He  undoubtedly  was  initiated  into  the  mysteries 
of  Egyptian  occultism  of  every  kind,  as  well  as  the 
usual  learning  of  the  land.  He  lived  the  same  luxurious 
life  of  a  prince  as  did  Joseph.  Trained  servants  by 
hundreds  waited  upon  him.  He  was  entrusted  with 
important  military  commissions,  and,  if  tradition  is 
right,  fought  battles  with  Egypt's  enemies. 

He,  however,  did  not  lose  his  piety.  That  mother 
training  never  left  him.  And  further  he  came  to 
know  his  divine  commission  at  this  time.  He  had 
choice  given  him  of  a  life  of  luxury,  perhaps  to  rise  to 
the  throne,  or  one  of  peril  and  poverty  with  his 
people.  He  deliberately  chose  the  latter  (Heb.  1 1 : 
24-26).  He  seems  to  have  incurred  the  suspicion  at 
this  early  time  of  those  in  power,  for  when  he  slays  an 
Egyptian  he  has  to  flee  for  his  life.  This  would  not 
have  been   necessary  had   he  been  in   affinity  with 


152  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Egyptian  power  at  court.  No  prince  of  the  palace 
need  have  fled  for  kiUing  a  subject.  It  shows  his 
friendless  state  at  the  time.  There  is  a  long,  romantic 
story  in  the  few  lines  of  Moses'  Egyptian  history. 

2.  His  hfe  after  his  flight  was  the  opposite  of  the 
Egyptian.  He  was  a  shepherd.  It  is  a  sohtary  life, 
one  excessively  wearing.  Shepherds  have  become 
insane  through  the  constant  solitude  and  never-end- 
ing bleating  of  flocks.  He  here  learns  patience,  and 
the  learning  only  had  in  solitude.  Here  God  reveals 
Himself.     Here  he  gets  his  commission. 

3.  With  Israel.  To  review  this  is  to  repeat  Is- 
rael's history  which  we  are  now  to  study.  He  was  a  spe- 
cially fitted  man  for  a  special  place.  The  key  to  his 
character  is  given  in  a  word.  **  He  endured  as  seeing 
him  who  is  invisible."  He  reveals  himself  to  Israel 
and  is  accepted  as  their  deliverer,  evidenced  by  the 
signs  he  shows  when  the  proper  time  has  come. 

3.  Pharaoh  and  the  Plagues, 
chapters  5-1 1. 
Pharaoh  is  an  official  title  like  emperor.  The 
Pharaoh  who  ruled  when  Moses  appeared  was  one  of 
Rameses  II' s  successors,  perhaps  Menephtah  I.  The 
fact  of  the  finding  or  not  finding  of  his  mummy  has 
little  bearing  on  the  matter.  There  is  no  reason  to 
say  that  this  Pharaoh  was  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea,  or 
that  if  he  was  his  body  was  not  recovered  and  em- 
balmed, for  many  bodies  were  left  on  the  shore,  as  the 
record  tells  us.     There  are  some  facts  which  attest  the 


The  Exodus  153 

general  narrative.  A  tablet  has  been  found  that  gives 
what  is  believed  to  be  the  Egyptian  account  of  the 
exodus,  ''The  Israelites  have  been  annihilated,  no 
posterity  is  left  them."  ^  The  Egyptians  saw  them  dis- 
appear and  to  them  they  were  annihilated. 

We  can  easily  understand  the  resentment  of  Pha- 
raoh, whom  the  monuments  say  was  twenty-six  years 
younger  than  Moses,  at  being  demanded  to  let  go  a 
subject  race  by  one  of  their  number,  and  one,  too,  who 
had  been  a  possible  competitor  with  him  for  the  throne. 
He  first  hardens  his  heart  and  then  God  hardens  it 
further.  He  was  raised  up  as  a  resistance  piece  for 
Jehovah's  purpose  to  reveal  His  power  (Ex.  9:  16; 
Rom.  9:17).  ''That  my  name  may  be  declared 
throughout  all  the  earth."  The  first  sign  should  have 
satisfied  him.  He  calls  for  his  magicians,  and  is 
hardened  to  resistance  when  they  perform  some  similar 
feats.  Another  sign  fails  also.  Plague  after  plague 
fails  to  bring  this  hardened  man  to  obedience. 

The  plagues  were  ten  in  number.  They  should 
be  memorized,  i.  Nile  turned  to  blood.  2.  Frogs. 
3.  Lice.  4.  Flies.  5.  Murrain  on  cattle.  6.  Boils 
on  man.  7.  Hail  and  fire.  8.  Locusts.  9.  Dark- 
ness.     10.     Death  of  first-born. 

Many  of  these,  perhaps  all,  have  a  natural  basis. 
The  hand  of  God  is  seen  in  the  severity  and  in  the 
time  and  place  and  purpose  of  the  plagues.  The 
Nile  is  subject  to  changes  to  a  red  color  from   the 

"^Expository  Times,  Nov.,  1897.  See  also  Authenticity  of  the 
Hexateuch,  Bartlett,  p.  106. 


154  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

presence  of  immense  quantities  of  infusoria  in  it  at 
times.  The  insect  plagues  are  all  in  a  measure  often 
felt  there.  So  also  the  murrain  on  cattle  and  boils  on 
man.  The  plague  of  hail  is  not  unknown,  in  some 
degree,  with  electrical  storms.  The  darkness  has 
been  experienced,  and  also  the  pestilence  which  scripture 
tells  smote  the  first-born  (Ps.  78:  50,  51).  Justice 
took  their  first-born  for  the  robbery  of  Jehovah's.  It 
was  this  death  blow  that  broke  their  hearts. 

4.  The  Passover. 
While  the  oppressor  is  being  broken,  Israel  is 
being  prepared  for  deliverance.  The  redemption 
must  be  by  blood  as  well  as  by  power.  Right  as 
well  as  might  characterize  God's  salvation  for 
His  people.  Therefore  the  edict  of  death  on  the 
first-born  is  universal.  Israelite  as  well  as  Egyptian 
is  under  that  doom;  hence  the  need  of  the  Pass- 
over. If  the  Angel  of  Death,  who  knows  no  dis- 
cretion, is  to  pass  over  any  house  there  must  be  a 
.seal  upon  it.  That  seal  is  blood.  That  blood  is  the 
type  of  a  future  Deliverer,  whose  forfeit  it  is,  pledging 
Him  to  come  and,  at  a  time  appointed,  make  good 
this  forfeit  with  His  own  death.  The  passover  there- 
fore is  Calvary  in  rehearsal  of  its  great  enactment 
(i  Cor.  5  :  7).  Christ  was  that  Lamb  of  God  of  whom 
not  a  bone  was  to  be  broken  (John  19  :  $6).  He  was 
to  die  at  passover  time.  By  virtue  of  His  death  His 
Church  as  a  whole  passed  out  to  victory,  and  judg- 
ment fell  upon  the  hosts  of  darkness.     Through  faith 


The  Exodus  155 

in  that  blood  the  believer  has  the  right  to  pass  out  to 
freedom,  and  through  partaking  of  that  flesh  he  has 
strength  to  do  so.  ^'  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other"  (Acts  4:  12). 

Besides  the  protection  of  the  blood,  there  was 
the  strength  of  the  flesh  eaten.  In  the  strength 
of  that  eaten  passover  lamb  and  bread  they  march  out 
to  liberty.  It  is  Christ's  flesh  eaten.  It  is  perpetuated 
in  the  Lord's  supper.  We,  too,  sing  the  song  of 
Moses  and  the  Lamb  at  every  communion  (Matt. 
26:    17-28  j  John  6  :  53-58;  Rev.  15:  2,  3). 

5.  The  Exodus. 
The  story  of  the  Exodus  is  briefly  told.  They  were 
prepared.  They  had  seen  the  plagues  and  courage 
filled  their  hearts.  Their  terror  fell  upon  all  who 
knew  the  strange  occurrences  of  the  past  weeks.  They 
are  told  to  ask  (not  *' borrow"  as  in  Authorized 
Version)  from  the  Egyptians  jewels  and  money.  These 
are  their  hard  earned  wages  unjustly  kept  from  them. 
They  ask  and  are  given  willingly  and  lavishly,  ''jewels 
of  silver  and  jewels  of  gold. ' '  They  march  out  in  order 
*'by  their  armies."  They  have  maintained  their 
tribal  order  and  divisions  into  ''families,"  "houses" 
and  households  under  their  hereditary  princes  and 
elders.  It  is  not  a  confused  mass  of  flying  fugitives, 
but  a  comparatively  orderly  caravan  and  encampment. 
There  are  600,000  fighting  men.  This  would  call  for 
perhaps  2,000,000  in  all.  In  haste,  yet  with  order, 
they  march   out,  joined  at  places  by  the  converging 


156  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

companies  from  various  parts  and  by  crowds  of  op- 
pressed peoples  who,  like  themselves,  have  felt  the  lash 
of  the  oppressor.  They  march  in  order,  probably  in 
great  divisions  meeting  at  Rameses  or  Pithom  on  the 
edge  of  the  wilderness. 

The  crossing  of  the  tongue  of  the  Red  Sea  was 
assisted  by  what  was  a  miracle  upon  a  natural  basis. 
The  place  and  conditions  made  such  a  piling  up  of  the 
waters  possible  and,  with  special  providential  winds  to 
assist,  the  whole  event  is  not  only  possible  but  certain. 
The  Egyptians  have  scarcely  let  them  go  than  they 
repent,  especially  for  their  treasures  disappearing  so 
quickly.  The  pride  and  unbelief  of  Pharaoh  harden  his 
heart  to  the  last  point  and  he  orders  a  pursuit.  The 
overthrow  of  the  Egyptian  hosts  is  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  a  sort  of  anarchy  prevailed  in  Egypt  after 
this.  A  papyrus  relates  that  the  population  had 
broken  away  over  the  borders,  and  among  those  that 
remained  there  was  no  commanding  voice  for  many 
years.  The  regions  of  that  event  were  full  of  its 
traditions  for  ages. 

Israel  celebrates  her  escape  with  songs  of  joy,  and 
Moses  writes  a  song  which  remains  ever  after  and  will 
remain,  as  prophecy  tells  us,  the  typical  song  of  the  final 
victory  of  the  Church  (Rev.  15  :  3). 

The  use  of  this  and  reference  to  it  in  later  scriptures 
gives  us  the  key  to  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the 
Exodus.  It  is  a  prophetic  event  and  of  the  last  times, 
as  so  much  of  scripture  narrative  is.  The  Revelation 
contains    much   of    the   Egyptian   story.      Egypt  is 


The  Exodus  157 

a  type  there  of  the  anti-Christian  opposition  of  the 
last  days.  Pharaoh  is  antichrist.  Israel  is  God's 
Church  in  that  day.  The  oppression  is  their  treat- 
ment at  the  hands  of  antichrist  and  his  people. 
The  world's  judgments  are  portrayed- in  the  plagues. 
The  waters  turned  to  blood,  the  locusts,  the  fire 
and  hail,  the  sores,  the  darkness,  the  one  who 
smites  as  Moses  did,  the  final  song  of  victory  at  the 
edge  of  the  sea  of  fire  all  are  given  us  here.  As  the 
deluge  gave  us  such  a  picture,  so  we  have  another  here 
in  greater  detail  and  vividness. 


CHAPTER  Xr 

THE  WILDERNESS  JOURNEY 

Ex.  1 6  TO  End.     Lev.     Num.     Deut. 

We  now  begin  the  forty  years'  journey  which  forms 
the  subject  of  the  books  of  the  Pentateuch  after 
Genesis.  The  relations  of  each  book  to  the  journey 
may  be  seen  in  the  map  given  herein.  Genesis  takes 
them  to  Egypt;  Exodus,  from  Egypt  to  Mt.  Sinai; 
Leviticus  was  all  given  at  Mt.  Sinai ;  Numbers  takes 
them  from  Mt.  Sinai  to  Canaan ;  Deuteronomy  was 
all  given  at  the  edge  of  Canaan. 

A  further  comparison  of  these  books  is  instructive. 

Exodus  is  partly  historical  (chs.  i  to  19),  partly 
legislative  (chs.  20  to  40). 

Leviticus  is  nearly  all  legislative.  ^ 

Numbers,  like  Exodus,  is  partly  historical,  partly 
legislative.  It  is  so  called  from  the  two  numberings  at 
the  beginning  and  close  of  the  journey  (chs.  2,  26). 

Deuteronomy  is  the  farewell  discourse  of  Moses  just 
before  his  death. 

The  whole  divides  into  (i)  history  of  the  journey 
and  (2)  legislation. 

The  journey  from  Egypt  to  Canaan  divides  into  five 
stages:  i.  From  Egypt  to  Mt.  Sinai.  2.  At  Mt. 
158 


The  Wilderness  Journey  159 


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i6o  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Sinai.     3.  From  Mt.  Sinai  to  Canaan.     4.  The  thirty- 
eight  years  of  wandering.     5 .  The  fortieth  year. 

I.     Egypt  to  Mt.  Sinai. 

EXODUS  12  TO  18. 

This  was  a  circuitous  way  to  Canaan.  It  was 
evidently  chosen  for  several  reasons.  It  hid  the 
nation  in  the  wilderness  from  the  Egyptian  enemies 
and  other  antagonistic  peoples.  It  brought  them  to 
the  place  of  schooling  at  Mt.  Sinai,  where  God  in- 
tended to  give  them  the  law. 

The  events  on  this  stage  of  their  journey  are  all 
preparatory;  the  experience  of  the  bitter  waters  at 
Marah,  the  Pillar  of  Cloud,  the  giving  of  manna  and 
the  quails,  the  contest  with  Amelek,  and  the  visit  and 
advice  of  Jethro.  The  time  was  about  three  months. 
It  was  a  series  of  lessons  of  faith  in  Jehovah.  These 
were  all  preparatory  events  and  typify  the  early  ex- 
periences of  the  Christian  hfe. 

2.     At  Mt.  Sinai. 
ex.  19  to  end.     lev.  and  num.  i  to  lo. 

This  was  in  the  general  locality  where  Moses 
spent  the  forty  years,  when  banished  from  Egypt. 
Mt.  Horeb  it  was  also  called.  Here  he  had  the  vision 
of  the  burning  bush  (Ex.  3).  Their  arrival  here 
was  to  be  the  evidence  that  God  had  called  and  sent 
him  and  was  with  him  (3  :  12). 

The  events  at  Mt.  Sinai  are  all  of  a  religious  nature ; 


The  Wilderness  Journey  i6i 

the  revelation  of  God  to  the  people  from  the  mount, 
the  giving  of  the  law,  that  is  the  decalogue,  by  audible 
voice  in  the  hearing  of  all  the  people,  and  further  laws 
to  Moses  in  the  mount,  which  he  ascended  many 
times;  the  giving  of  the  two  tables  of  stone,  the 
directions  for  building  the  Tabernacle,  the  idolatry  of 
Israel  with  the  golden  calf,  the  punishment,  the  reve- 
lation of  God's  grace  to  Moses  and  the  erection  of  the 
Tabernacle.  The  whole  of  Leviticus  was  given  here 
from  the  Tabernacle.  Here  Aaron  was  consecrated. 
Here  occurred  the  profanation  by  his  sons,  Nadab  and 
Abihu,  and  their  death.  The  second  Passover  was 
here  observed.  The  remainder  of  the  first  year  was 
spent  here.  The  first  numbering  of  the  nation  and 
the  order  of  the  camp  for  the  further  march  was  also 
arranged  here. 

The  great  events  were  the  giving  of  the  law  and 
that  part  called  the  Book  of  the  Covenant  and  the 
covenant  entered  into  between  Jehovah  and  the  nation. 
The  basis  of  this  was  the  covenant  with  Abraham. 
Now  a  subsidiary  covenant  was  given  them  in  which 
they  ratified  that  great  covenant  and  accepted  Jehovah 
as  their  national  God,  they  to  be  His  peculiar  people 
(Ex.  20-24).  Having  fulfilled  His  promise  to  bring 
them  out  of  Egypt,  He  asks  of  them  this  covenant  in 
which  they  covenant  to  be  His  and  obedient  to  Him. 
It  is  formally  ratified,  not  only  by  the  spoken  consent 
of  the  people,  but  by  sprinkling  them  and  the  Book  with 
the  blood  of  burnt  and  peace  offerings.  It  was  further 
impressed  by  the  taking  of  Moses,  Aaron  and  seventy 


i62  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

elders  up  into  the  mount  and  their  having  there  a 
vision  of  Jehovah.  They  are  now  under  the  most 
solemn  obligation  to  keep  the  law,  and  also  under  the 
most  blessed  relations  to  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth, 
as  His  chosen  people,  to  be  led  and  fed  and  helped  and 
used  and  glorified. 

Sinai  represents  the  conviction  of  sin,  righteousness 
and  judgment,  so  necessary  for  the  spiritual  advance 
of  the  soul  (Rom.  7).  We  have  no  more  of  Christ  than 
we  see,  desire  and  appropriate.  We  have  to  be  brought 
to  this  by  conviction  of  our  need  by  the  law.  It  is  sig- 
nificant that  the  law  was  given  to  a  people  already 
redeemed  from  Egypt.  Conviction  is  as  necessary 
for  the  believer  as  for  the  world,  but  it  is  not  his  per- 
manent place  of  experience.  We  are  not  to  be  always 
under  Sinai.     Therefore  the  gospel  comes. 

In  the  New  Testament  this  whole  scene  is  contrasted 
with  Christ  and  the  gospel  (2  Cor.  3 ;  Heb.  8  :  6-13  ; 
12  :  18-29).  '^h^  ^^^v  ^s  contrasted  with  the  gospel. 
The  law  brings  condemnation ;  the  gospel  forgiveness. 
The  law  works  by  its  terrors  ;  the  gospel  by  its  grace 
and  love.  The  law  was  feared  and  soon  forgotten ; 
the  gospel  is  written  on  the  heart  and  loved  and  re- 
membered. The  law  brings  us  to  Mt.  Sinai  with  its 
fearful  threatenings ;  the  gospel  to  a  view  of  the 
heavenly  city  with  its  redeemed  saints.  Mt.  Sinai  is 
the  antithesis  of  Calvary.  Their  sins  were  punished. 
Ours  are  forgiven  and  forgotten. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  are  reminded  of  the  greater 
responsibility  of  hearing  such  a  superior  gospel.     If 


The  Wilderness  Journey  163 

they  perished  under  Moses'  law,  what  of  those  who  re- 
ject Christ  Himself?  If  they  perished  who  sinned 
under  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice,  what  of  those  who 
trample  under  foot  the  blood  of  Christ  ?  If  they  fell 
who  refused  Moses  who  spake  on  earth,  what  of  those 
who  refuse  Him  who  speaks  from  heaven?  (Heb. 
10  :  26-31.) 

Another  great  event  was  the  giving  and  erection  of 
the  Tabernacle  which  thenceforth  was  the  centre  of 
the  camp.  This  occupies  the  last  part  of  Exodus.  It 
was  given  to  Moses  in  a  vision  and  the  directions  for 
its  erection  were  most  minute,  so  that  it  can  be  built 
to-day  from  these  directions,  and  has  been  often  shown 
in  models,  which  are  a  most  helpful  method  of  study- 
ing it.  The  study  of  the  Tabernacle  will  come  under 
the  study  of  the  ceremonial  law,  with  which  it  is  most 
intimately  connected.  Let  it  suffice  here  to  say  that 
it  was  the  residence  of  Jehovah  among  the  people.  It 
was  not  so  much  the  meeting-place  of  the  people, 
though  they  did  meet  at  its  door,  as  the  meeting-place 
of  the  people  with  Jehovah.  It  could  not  contain 
many  people  and  only  the  priests  were  allowed  to  enter. 
The  Pillar  of  Cloud  rested  upon  the  Tabernacle  and 
spread  thence  over  the  entire  camp  as  a  canopy. 

3.     Sinai  to  Canaan. 
numbers  i  to  1 9. 
The  numbering  of  the  people  and  the  ordering  of 
the  camp  was  at  Sinai  and  with  this  they  left  for  the 
journey. 


164  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

The  arrangement  of  the  camp -was  in  four  divisions, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  Tabernacle,  which  was  there- 
fore in  the  centre  of  the  camp.  Each  of  the  four 
divisions  was  led  by  one  of  the  four  strong  tribes, 
Judah  on  the  east  with  Issachar  and  Zebulun.  Reu- 
ben on  the  south,  with  Simeon  and  Gad,  Ephraim  on 
the  west  with  Manasseh  and  Benjamin,  and  Dan  on 
the  north,  with  Asher  and  Naphtali.  These  group- 
ings were  according  to  affinity.  The  tribes  which 
were  from  sons  of  the  same  mother  were  together,  and 
antagonistic  tribes  at  the  extremes. 

The  Pillar  of  Cloud  was  spread  over  the  camp  like 
a  canopy,  a  central  stem  resting  on  the  Tabernacle. 
It  shielded  them  from  the  burning  sun  by  day  and 
illuminated  the  camp  at  night. 

A  regular  order  of  march  was  commanded,  Judah 
going  first,  the  other  camps  following  in  order.  While 
in  camp,  which  was  for  considerable  periods,  they 
wandered  far  and  near  for  forage.  These  encamp- 
ments must  be  distinguished  from  the  daily  camp 
when  on  the  march.  The  manna  was  probably  some 
natural  production  greatly  multiplied  for  their  use. 
A  species  of  lichen  is  found  in  this  region  and  its  seeds 
are  taken  up  by  the  wind  and  fall  in  great  quantities. 
There  is  also  a  fungus  which  grows  very  plentifully. 
It  is  of  a  gray  color  and  as  large  as  a  pea.  The 
Arabs  call  it  "angels'  food." 

We  cannot  judge  that  country  by  what  we  see  of 
it  now  any  more  than  we  can  the  land  of  Canaan. 
Neglect  and  lawlessness  have  rendered  many  regions 


The  Wilderness  Journey  165 

desolate  which  were  once  comparatively  fertile.  We 
must  not  suppose  it  all  a  sandy  desert.  The  children 
of  Israel  had  flocks  and  herds,  and  these  required 
pasture.  Their  path  and  progress  were  adapted  to 
their  necessities. 

The  march  to  Canaan  is  characterized  by  sin  and 
rebellion  and  chastisement.  The  people  rebel  continu- 
ally and  even  Moses  wearies  and  is  given  the  seventy 
elders  to  aid  him.  Miriam  and  Aaron  rebel  against 
Moses.  At  Kadesh  the  whole  nation  turns  from  entering 
Canaan  and  disbelieve  the  good  report  of  the  spies 
and  even  turn  against  Moses.  God  shuts  them  out  of 
Canaan  and  turns  them  back  into  the  wilderness. 
They  are  doomed  to  fall  in  the  wilderness,  in  which 
they  are  to  wander  the  rest  of  forty  years.  Korah, 
Dathan  and  Abiram  rebel  against  Moses'  and  Aaron's 
authority  and  are  destroyed.  The  blossoming  of 
Aaron's  rod  stops  the  murmuring  against  him.  Some 
laws  are  given  as  called  for  by  the  need  of  the  time. 

4.  The  Years  of  Wandering. 
The  period  of  thirty-eight  years  after  this  is  passed 
over  without  record  of  events.  Only  the  stages  of  the 
journey  are  given  (Num.  33).  They  are  under  the 
judgment  of  Jehovah.  It  is  a  time  of  apostasy. 
They  worship  the  gods  of  the  heathen  (Amos  5  :  25,  26  ; 
Acts  7 :  42,  43).  The  people  waste  away  with 
pestilences  and  other  calamities  (Num.  14:  30-33; 
32:  13;  Ps.  78:  33).  It  was  probably  during  this 
time  that  Psalm  ninety  was  written  by  Moses.     It  re- 


1 66  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

cites  the  brevity  of  life,  threescore  years  and  ten  or 
fourscore  years,  which  was  far  below  the  average  life, 
but  was  the  limited  term  of  that  generation.  He  re- 
views the  anger  of  God  and  the  fate  of  the  sinners. 
The  next  Psalm  was  probably  by  Moses,  also,  and 
speaks  of  the  security  of  the  godly  in  these  same  cir- 
cumstances. All  this  time,  however,  they  are  fed  and 
led  (Deut.  2  :  7,  8).  Jehovah  does  not  forsake  them. 
While  the  years  of  wandering  were  a  time  of  chas- 
tisement, there  was  mercy  also  in  them  for  the  nation. 
With  the  expulsion  of  the  Hyksos  Kings,  Pharaoh 
extended  his  empire  east  over  Canaan  and  as  far  as  the 
Euphrates.  After  the  destruction  of  the  Egyptians  at 
the  Red  Sea  the  power  of  Egypt  over  these  regions 
was  relaxed,  and  they  fell  into  a  state  of  war  and  in- 
vasion from  the  east.  The  nations  of  Canaan  were 
therefore  much  weakened  when  the  children  of  Israel 
did  enter.  In  the  wilderness  they  were  apart  from 
these  wars,  and,  although  unsettled,  were  safe  from 
foreign  foes. 

5.  The  Fortieth  Year, 
numbers  20  to  end  and  deuteronomy. 
This  is  a  year  of  many  events.  There  is  much  of 
sin  and  rebellion  as  in  the  past  thirty-eight  years,  and 
also  much  of  blessing.  Miriam  and  Aaron  both 
die.  The  fiery  serpents  are  sent  among  the  people. 
Balaam  prophesies  in  vain  against  the  nation,  but 
they  fall  into  sin  with  Moab  and  many  are  de- 
stroyed.    The  second   numbering   now   takes  place, 


The  Wilderness  Journey  167 

showing  that  all  over  twenty  have  fallen  as  fore- 
told. Joshua  is  chosen  and  consecrated.  War  is  had 
with  the  Midianites  and  with  Og  and  Sihon,  and  their 
land  is  given  to  Reuben,  Manasseh  and  Gad.  The 
allotment  of  the  land  and  the  cities  of  refuge  are  pro- 
vided for.  Moses  writes  the  law,  gives  his  farewell 
discourses  in  Deuteronomy,  gives  his  song,  blesses  the 
tribes  and  dies  on  Pisgah.  The  nation  is  encamped  in 
the  plains  of  Moab  by  Jordan  near  Jericho. 

Conclusion. 

This  closes  the  story  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness. 
From  the  single  progenitor  they  have  increased  to  a  na- 
tion of  millions.  They  have  passed  through  strange 
vicissitudes,  but  their  Jehovah  has  not  forsaken  them. 
Now  they  stand  at  the  door  of  Canaan.  Moses  is  dead. 
A  new  captain  has  been  appointed.  Canaan  is  before 
them. 

Before  we  enter  Canaan,  let  us  review  the  work  of  a 
world-wide  nature  so  far  done  by  Israel  as  an  instru- 
ment in  Jehovah's  hand  to  bring  the  world  to  the 
knowledge  of  Himself.  Abraham  was  promised  that 
he  was  to  be  a  blessing  to  all  the  families  of  the 
earth.  The  plagues  of  Egypt  and  Israel's  deliverance 
made  Jehovah's  name  known  to  all  the  earth  (Ex. 
9:16).  A  godly  people  have  been  prepared.  The 
earth  was  falling  into  apostasy  and  these  were  kept  in 
a  measure  from  that  fall.  They  were  a  comparatively 
pure  race.  They  had  been  in  a  measure  purged  from 
the  contamination  of  Egypt. 


1 68  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Moses'  Farewell, 
deuteronomy. 

The  simplest  view  of  this  book  is  to  take  it  at  its 
own  account  of  itself  as  the  last  words  of  Moses,  his 
farewell  discourses.  While  the  decalogue  was  spoken 
from  Mt.  Sinai,  and  the  ceremonial  law  in  Leviticus 
from  the  Mercy  Seat,  the  addresses  of  Deuteronomy 
are  simply  Moses'  own  words,  inspired,  of  course,  but 
not  miraculously  given. 

The  outhne  of  Deuteronomy  is  as  follows  : 

Chapters  i-ii.  A  review  of  the  past  and  ex- 
hortations. 

Chapters  12-26.     A  review  of  the  Law. 

Chapters  27-30.     The  Blessings  and  Curses. 

Chapters  31-34.     Moses'  Last  Words. 

I.     A  Review  of  the  Past  and  Exhortations. 

Moses'  review  of  the  past  is  noticeable  for  what  it 
omits  and  for  what  it  recites.  It  is  not  a  complete 
review  of  their  history  or  even  of  their  journey.  He 
says  little  or  nothing  of  Egypt  or  its  bondage  or  the 
exodus  or  the  march  to  Mt.  Sinai  or  the  wonders 
there.  He  begins  at  Mt.  Sinai  and  passes  with  a 
word  to  Kadesh  and  dwells  on  the  apostasy  there. 
He  omits  all  the  thirty-eight  years  of  wandering, — in- 
deed all  the  sad  events  of  their  journey.  He  wants  to 
confirm  and  encourage  them  for  the  conquest.  So 
God  forgets  our  past.  We  are  not  to  be  continually 
occupied  with  the  memory  of  our  past  sins  and  fail- 


The  Wilderness  Journey  169 

ures.  If  God  has  forgotten,  so  may  we.  Moses  does 
tell  them  of  the  rulers  he  has  appointed  ;  for  they  are 
soon  to  depend  on  them,  and  Moses  would  enforce 
theif  authority.  The  great  event  he  recites  is  the 
coming  to  Kadesh  Barnea  and  the  story  of  the  spies 
and  the  awful  turning  away  from  that  entrance  to  the 
Promised  Land.  He  wants  no  more  sin  like  that.  He 
will  remind  them  once  for  all  of  the  sin  and  effects  of 
turning  back  from  God.  He  tells  them  of  the 
splendid  victory  over  Sihon  and  Og,  and  the  settle- 
ment of  the  two  tribes  and  a  half  and  that  these  are  to 
go  before  them  armed  to  fight.  All  this  is  with  a 
view  to  their  encouragement  that  they  may  be  better 
prepared  to  enter  Canaan. 

2.  A  Review  of  the  Law. 
"  Deuteronomy  "  means  the  second  giving  or  review 
of  the  law ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  only  a 
small  part  reviewed.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty 
matters  mentioned  in  Deuteronomy,  only  a  fraction 
are  from  the  former  books,  Exodus,  Numbers  and 
Leviticus,  while  the  greater  part  of  this  legislation  is 
omitted  and  much  new  legislation  is  introduced.  What 
Moses  reviews  are  matters  of  special  deficiency  in  their 
behavior  or  special  need  in  view  of  their  entrance  into 
the  Promised  Land.  He  reviews  in  a  hortatory  way 
without  trying  to  quote  verbatim,  and  often  breaks  into 
a  quotation  with  his  own  paraphrase  or  admonition. 
The  Ten  Commandments  are  reviewed  in  this  par- 
aphrastic way.     It  is  not  a  second  repetition  of  the 


lyo  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

decalogue,  but  an  address  founded  upon  it.  The  new 
matters  he  gives  are  such  as  the  people  will  need  in  the 
new  land  regarding  battlements  to  houses,  places  of 
worship,  gleanings,  etc.  The  whole  is  more  merciful, 
more  spiritual  than  the  original  laws.  Christ  loved  to 
quote  from  Deuteronomy. 

3.     The  Blessings  and  Curses. 

Moses  had  placed  the  nation  under  a  covenant  of 
blood  at  Mt.  Sinai,  but  a  new  generation  has  come, 
so  he  now  places  them  also  under  a  set'  of  awful 
prophecies. 

We  must  remember  in  studying  Deuteronomy  that 
it  addresses  a  new  generation  many  of  whom  had  not 
seen  Egypt,  Mt.  Sinai,  or  much  of  matters  since. 
Now  he  brings  to  bear  upon  them  that  for  which  the 
law  stands;  blessing,  if  obeyed,  cursing,  if  disobeyed. 
He  recites  these  in  detail  and,  as  once  before  in 
Leviticus  they  are  related  (Lev.  26),  he  now  reviews 
them.  They  are  to  hear  the  dreadful  doom  of  those 
who  disobey.  It  is  needed ;  man  soon  forgets  the  future 
danger  for  present  pleasure  and  pursuits.  The  sum- 
ming up  is  given  by  Paul,  <'  Cursed  is  every  one  that 
continueth  not  in  all  things  that  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them  "  (Gal.  3  :  10). 

The  people  are  required  to  say,  Amen,  to  every 
curse  pronounced  upon  themselves — if  they  disobey. 
They  are  cursed  in  body  and  soul,  in  property  and 
family,  in  land  and  life,  they  and  their  descendants, 
with  every  blight  and  plague  and  evil  that  can  afflict 


The  Wilderness  Journey  171 

mankind,  so  that  they  shall  hate  life  and  turn  against 
each  other  and  devour  their  nearest  and  dearest,  and 
long  for  death  to  end  it  all.  All  this  they  that  day 
call  down  upon  themselves  if  they  fail  to  keep  that 
law.  Moses  then  puts  them  under  a  covenant  as  he 
did  at  Mt.  Sinai.  It  had  its  effect.  That  generation 
did  not  wander,  and  while  any  lived  who  remembered 
that  awful  day  the  nation  was  obedient.  It  was 
branded  upon  their  souls. 

All  this  is  accompanied  with  exhortations ;  Moses 
pleading  with  the  people  to  be  obedient  to  God  and 
His  law.  His  soul  is  poured  out  in  his  emotions. 
He  exhausts  every  feeling  of  his  being  in  his  intensity 
and  earnestness.  He  sums  up  his  exhortation  in  these 
words,  '^I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  witness  against 
you  this  day,  that  I  have  set  before  you  the  life  and 
death,  the  blessing  and  the  curse ;  therefore  choose 
life  that  thou  mayest  live,  both  thou  and  thy  seed  " 
(Deut.  30  :  19). 

4.  Moses'  Last  Words. 
In  Moses*  song  (ch.  32),  and  in  his  blessing  Moses 
reaches  the  highest  inspired  state.  We  have  several 
of  Moses'  songs  recorded,  that  at  the  overthrow  of  the 
Egyptians  (Ex.  15  :  i),  and  Psalm  ninety,  which  is 
ascribed  to  Moses.  This  song  in  his  parting  days 
deals  with  the  election  of  Israel,  their  apostasy,  their 
punishment  and  their  restoration.  It  is  a  prophecy  of 
their  national  history,  as  the  blessings  of  the  tribes 
which  follows  is  a  prophecy  of  their  tribal  history. 


172  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

It  is  of  interest  to  us  because  we  are  mentioned  in  it, 
the  gentiles  coming  to  Christ  (Deut.  32  :  21 ;  Rom. 
10:  19). 

Verse  8  is  very  significant.  It  tells  us  that  God 
arranged  the  nations  around  Israel.  This  is  for  the 
world's  benefit,  as  we  have  seen.  The  tender  care  of 
Jehovah  in  the  figure  of  the  eagle  mother  and  her 
young  (v.  11)  is  also  here  shown.  In  Moses'  blessing 
of  the  tribes  (ch.  33)  he  begins  at  Reuben,  the 
eldest,  giving  Judah  the  next  place,  dwelling  on  Levi, 
the  law  teacher,  and  on  Joseph  the  beloved,  mention- 
ing his  sons  also.  Simeon  is  omitted.  It  is  useful  to 
compare  this  list  with  the  lists  of  the  tribes  as  given 
elsewhere. 

Moses*  death  and  burial  are  next  related.  He  has 
done  all  and  said  all  that  he  can.  He  has  lived  his 
life  ;  he  is  now  an  old  man.  Israel  is  at  the  edge  of 
the  Promised  Land  ready  to  enter,  but  Moses  is  for- 
bidden to  enter.  His  sin,  but  more  particularly  the 
sin  of  the  people,  and  still  more  his  typical  place  for- 
bid his  entrance. 

The  account  of  Moses'  death  is  most  sublime.  At 
an  appointed  time,  knowing  that  he  is  going  to  die, 
he  ascends  Mount  Pisgah.  He  is  given  a  view  of  the 
Promised  Land,  doubtless  aided  supernaturally  to  see 
it  in  its  full  extent  and  glory ;  then  he  lies  down  as  a 
child  to  rest,  and  God  kisses  his  soul  away.  There 
is  a  contest  as  to  his  body.  Satan  and  Michael  dis- 
pute about  it  (Jude  9).  Doubtless  the  devil  would 
like  a  great  human  funeral  and  a  burial-place  to  turn 


The  Wilderness  Journey  173 

into  an  idolatrous  place  of  worship  in  after  years. 
But  God  forbids  and  the  angels  bury  him.  His  ap- 
pearance on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  with  Elijah, 
who  was  translated  without  dying,  looks  as  if  his  body 
had  some  special  care  given  to  it.  No  one  knows  of 
his  sepulchre  unto  this  day. 

Moses'  Character  and  Place. 

He  is  to  be  considered  personally  and  typically. 
Personally  he  is  in  some  respects  the  greatest  character 
in  scripture.  As  the  author  of  the  law,  he  is  ranked 
with  prophets  and  apostles.  His  work  lies  at  the  basis 
of  all  modern  civilization.  His  decalogue  is  the 
foundation  of  all  society  as  well  as  religion.  He  is 
and  will  be  forever  the  world's  lawgiver.  When  we 
ask  for  the  secrets  of  his  greatness,  we  see  many  facts 
and  traits.     Some  of  these  are  noted  below. 

1.  He  had  a  godly  ancestry.  So  had  most  if  not 
all  of  great  men  in  scripture  ;  Joseph,  Samuel,  David, 
Jeremiah,  Paul  and  Timothy. 

2.  A  remarkable  training,  parental,  secular  and 
spiritual,  as  we  have  seen. 

3.  An  early  choice  of  godliness  for  himself,  as 
against  all  the  attractions  the  world  could  give  to  any 
man  (Heb.  11  :  24-26). 

4.  A  ready  acceptance  of  his  mission  to  deliver 
Israel  in  face  of  untold  dangers. 

5.  His  courage  in  facing  Pharaoh  and  his  deter- 
mination for  victory  in  the  face  of  the  satanic  deter- 
mination of  Pharaoh  not  to  let  the  people  go. 


174  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

6.  His  administrative  ability.  To  organize  and 
lead  and  rule  that  undisciplined  host  was  a  vast  test  of 
such  ability. 

7.  His  meekness  in  utter  self- forgetfulness.  There 
is  no  self-laudation  in  all  this  history. 

8.  His  renunciation  of  self  in  his  prayer  for  Israel 
where  he  asks  to  perish  if  Israel  might  thus  live  (Ex. 
32:  32). 

Typically,  Moses  is  even  greater  than  he  is  per- 
sonally. 

1.  He  represents  the  law  spiritually.  Moses  and 
law  are  synonyms  typically.  He  has  therefore  to 
die  outside  of  Canaan ;  for  the  law  can  make  nothing 
perfect,  cannot  save.  Therefore  Moses  must  submit 
to  be  set  aside  at  the  edge  of  conquest,  and  allow  an- 
other to  take  his  place  and  lead  Israel  into  rest. 

2.  He  is  a  type  of  Christ  as  prophet.  ''  A  prophet 
shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you  of  your 
brethren  like  unto  me"  (Deut.  18  :  15  ;  Acts  3  :  22). 

3.  He  has  a  prophetic  place.  He  appears  at  the 
last  day  in  judgment  upon  the  wicked  (Rev.  11: 
2-12). 

4.  He  is  prophetic  and  illustrative  of  the  gospel 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  review  of  the  law.  All  the  gos- 
pel of  grace  will  be  found  there  (Luke  24 :  27,  44). 

Spiritual  Lessons  from  Israel. 
The  journey  of  Israel  and,  indeed,  their  whole  his- 
tory are  typical  of  the  spiritual  history  of  the  believer. 
The  apostles  often  apply  it  so.     It  is  the  story  of  the 


The  Wilderness  Journey  175 

Pilgrim's  Progress  from  the  land  of  sin  and  bondage 
to  liberty. 

The  three  states,  Egypt,  the  Wilderness  and 
Canaan,  represent  the  soul  under  sin,  law  and  grace 
respectively.  The  soul  must  be  made  tired  of  sin  by 
its  results,  as  Israel  was  made  weary  of  Egypt  by  its 
bondage,  otherwise  they  would  have  been  willing  to 
remain  there  always.  The  delights  of  sin  must  be 
made  bitter  as  Israel's  life  was  made  bitter  by  tasks 
and  oppression.  By  the  death  of  Christ,  typified  in 
the  Passover,  and  the  work  of  Christ  in  defeating 
Satan,  typified  in  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  the  soul  is  de- 
livered and  brought  into  freedom. 

Israel  was  baptized  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea 
(i  Cor.  10  :  I,  2).  The  cloud  is  a  type  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  His  Old  Testament  phase  upon  and  with  the 
Church,  while  now  He  is  in  the  Church  (John  14 :  17). 
The  stream  from  the  smitten  rock  represents  the 
same  Holy  Spirit  in  His  satisfying  influences  (i  Cor. 
10:  4;  John  7:  37-39).  The  manna  represents 
Christ's  flesh  or  word  by  which  we  live  (John  6  :  32  ; 
Matt.  4 :  4),  the  quails,  the  lusts  of  the  flesh 
(Num.  II  :  18-20,  33;   Gal.  6:  8). 

Conviction  of  sin  must  come  to  all ;  so  this  is  typi- 
fied in  Mount  Sinai  when  the  thunders  of  law  strike 
terror  to  their  hearts.  The  works  of  the  law  being 
completed  they  come  to  the  edge  of  Canaan  repre- 
senting the  life  of  rest  in  Christ.  This  is  particularly 
the  lesson  in  Hebrews  third  and  fourth  chapters. 

The  apostasy  of  Israel  at  Kadesh  is  there  made  the 


176  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

text  of  warning  to  us  not  to  fail  to  enter  Christ.  The 
land  of  rest  is  the  life  of  rest  in  Christ. 

''  There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  for  the  people  of 
God  ' '  does  not  mean  heaven.  The  next  verse  shows 
that,  "  He  that  is  entered  into  his  rest  he  also  hath 
ceased  from  his  own  works. ' '  (See  Heb.  3  :  7  to  4  :  11.) 
"Let  us  labor  therefore  to  enter  into  that  rest." 

The  refusal  of  Israel  at  Kadesh  Barnea  to  enter 
Canaan  was  the  great  sin  of  their  wilderness  journey. 
It  turned  them  back  into  the  wilderness  and  all  that 
generation  save  two  fell  before  the  final  entrance  into 
the  Promised  Land.  It  represents  the  failure  to  enter 
Christ  in  full  consecration  when  the  opportunity  is 
presented  (Rom.  6:  13;   12  :  i). 

This  is  the  common  experience  still.  Few  seem  to 
pass  at  once  to  victorious  Christian  life.  The  wilder- 
ness life  therefore  is  the  life  of  most  Christians.  It  is 
a  life  of  unrest,  of  frequent  backsliding,  of  chastise- 
ments, of  much  murmuring.  The  sins  at  the  begin- 
ning were  those  of  despondency ;  towards  the  close, 
sins  of  presumption.  So  in  the  Christian  life  the  first 
falls  are  from  discouragement;  then  come  later  the 
more  guilty  sins  of  rebellion.  The  root  of  all  is  dis- 
satisfaction with  God's  leading  and  unbelief  in  His 
presence  or  goodness. 

This  state  is  the  opposite  of  being  "  filled  with  the 
Spirit."  It  is  a  state  of  want  of  assurance,  of  faihng 
before  besetting  sins,  of  want  of  power  in  service. 
Prayers  are  few  and  feeble  and  often  unanswered. 
There  are  many  hours  of  brooding  and  unhappiness. 


The  Wilderness  Journey  177 

God's  love  is  doubted.  The  soul  is  robbed  of  its  joy 
and  peace,  and  the  gospel  stripped  of  its  attractive- 
ness in  the  eyes  of  all  beholders.  Many  live  and  die 
in  this  state,  and  never  know  the  life  of  victory  "  in 
Christ "  (Rom.  8),  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  and  its  rest. 

The  sins  of  Israel  were  also  of  another  kind,  those 
of  presumption.  They  rebelled  and  profaned  God's 
service,  and  finally  abandoned  it  and  served  other 
gods.  So  to-day  the  unspiritual,  unconsecrated 
Christian  falls  into  open  sin,  into  habits  utterly  in- 
consistent with  his  profession.  This  is  the  case  to- 
day. The  prevalence  of  the  many  anti-Christian 
systems  springing  up  and  attaining  such  vast  propor- 
tions is  evidence  of  a  wilderness  state  of  life  among 
multitudes.  They  get  their  adherents  from  dissatis- 
fied or  unsatisfied  Christians.  Those  filled  with  the 
Spirit  never  fall  into  these  beliefs.  There  is  no  safety 
for  an  unconsecrated  Christian. 

The  sins  of  Israel  are  held  up  as  warnings.  That 
with  the  golden  calf  is  especially  held  up  as  a  warn- 
ing (i  Cor.  10  :  1-12).  If  that  redeemed  people  were 
so  chastised  for  their  sins,  we  may  be  sure  that  we 
will  be  also.  False  or  erroneous  religious  beliefs  in- 
evitably lead  to  wrong  lives.  The  rush  into  pleas- 
ures, especially  unclean  pleasures,  was  the  sin  of  that 
people.  First  came  worship  of  the  golden  calf;  then 
festivity,  then  lascivious  pleasure.  *'They  sat  down 
to  eat  and  to  drink  and  rose  up  to  play." 

They  hovered  about  the  edge  of  Canaan,  per- 
haps attempting  as  at  first  to  enter  presumptuously, 


178  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

but  failed.  They  are  like  those  **  ever  learning  and 
never  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  "  (2  Tim. 
3:  7).  It  is  the  "Oh,  wretched  man  that  I  am" 
state  of  Romans  seventh.  The  whole  lesson  is 
"Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you 
an  evil  heart  of  unbelief  in  departing  from  the  living 
God.  .  .  .  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  His  voice 
harden  not  your  hearts"  (Heb.  3  :  12,  15). 

2.  The  reverse  of  the  picture  is  the  unfailing 
goodness  of  God  all  this  time  of  wandering.  He 
never  forsakes  His  people;  the  manna  never  fails 
nor  does  the  pillar  of  cloud  ever  leave  them.  They 
are  protected  from  outward  foes  and  led  day  by  day. 
They  are  not  cast  off;  they  are  still  His  own  pe- 
culiar people.  He  deals  with  them  as  with  sons  ;  he 
chastises  them,  and  every  sin  brings  its  punishment. 
This  is  the  difference  between  the  people  of  God  and 
the  people  of  the  world.  The  latter  often  go  on  with- 
out adversity  to  the  end,  and  then  their  doom  is  sealed. 
God  does  not  so  neglect  His  people.  Nor  does  He 
make  any  record  of  that  long  time  of  wandering.  It 
is  a  forgotten  page  of  history  blotted  out  and  not  to 
be  remembered.  The  eternal  record  will  show  only 
the  time  of  fidelity.  So  our  sins  are  cast  behind  His 
back  and  never  remembered  against  us.  There  will 
be  but  short  histories  to  some  lives,  however,  when 
the  record  is  made  up.  The  story  leads  us  to  a  brighter 
page,  and  Israel  has  another  opportunity,  and  this  they 
gladly  and  boldly  embrace,  and  so  enter  Canaan.  So 
with  us  there  comes  the  call  to  a  better  life  in  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    LAW 

That  body  of  legislation  contained  in  the  Penta- 
teuch is  called  The  Law.  There  are  hundreds  of 
commands  but  these  form  one  body  of  law.  These 
were  given  as  needed.  We  are  not  to  suppose  it  was 
all  given  or  arranged  as  we  have  it.  The  various  oc- 
casions of  the  giving  are  often  named.  The  most 
necessary  were  given  first.  The  decalogue  with  other 
most  necessary  laws  were  given  as  soon  as  Sinai  was 
reached.  After  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle  the 
laws  of  Leviticus  were  given,  these  forming  the  cere- 
monial law  which  could  not  have  been  observed  pre- 
vious to  this  time.  Before  starting  on  the  march  to 
Canaan  the  law  of  the  camp  and  march  was  given 
(Num.  1-9).  On  the  way  and  during  the  several 
episodes  mentioned  much  of  the  rest  of  Numbers  was 
given ;  and  at  the  edge  of  Canaan,  just  before  Moses' 
death,  all  of  Deuteronomy. 

The  germ  and  centre  of  the  whole  law  was  the 

decalogue,  the  ten  commandments  on  the  two  tables 

of  stone.     These  were  called  the  Testimony  and  these 

gave  the  name  to  the  Ark  which  contained  them.     It 

was  the  Ark  of  the  Testimony.     They  also  gave  the 

name  to  the  Tabernacle.     It  was  the  Tabernacle  of 
179 


i8o  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Testimony.  It  was  over  these  tables  of  stone  that  the 
cherubim  hovered  in  reverence,  and  above  them  rested 
the  brightness  which  we  have  reason  to  beUeve  filled  the 
Holy  of  Holies.  It  was  on  the  Mercy  Seat  covering 
the  law  that  the  blood  of  expiation  was  sprinkled, 
the  demands  of  this  law  making  such  atonement 
necessary.  The  pillar  of  cloud  rested  on  the  Taber- 
nacle as  on  a  place  on  which  God  could  rest  with  ap- 
proval. The  Ten  Commandments  then  represent  the 
centre  of  all  that  complicated  system.  To  under- 
stand these  and  the  relation  of  all  the  other  laws  to 
them  is  to  obtain  the  key  to  all.  We  will  consider 
the  form  of  the  decalogue,  its  basis  in  pre-mosaic  law, 
its  scope  and  expression  in  spiritual,  ethical,  civil  and 
ceremonial  law.  Exodus  contains  most  ethical  law ; 
Leviticus,  most  ceremonial ;  Numbers,  most  civil ; 
and  Deuteronomy,  most  spiritual  law. 

I.     The  Form  of  the  Decalogue. 

The  Ten  Commandments  were  written  on  two 
tables  of  stone  which  were  placed  in  the  Ark.  These 
two  tables  represented  respectively  duties  to  God  and 
duties  to  man.  The  usual  arrangement  is  of  four  on 
the  first  and  six  on  the  second ;  but  the  arrangement 
of  three  on  the  first  and  seven  on  the  second  as  fol- 
lows seems  more  probable  and  reasonable. 
•  I.  This  arrangement  makes  a  more  equal  division 
of  the  matter. 

2.     It   places   the   Fourth   Commandment   among 


The  Law 


i8i 


those  regarding  human  duties,  and  Christ  tells  us  that 
the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man. 

3.  It  arranges  the  commandments  in  groups  of 
three  for  the  divine  side  of  the  law  and  seven  for  the 
human  side,  and  these  numbers  are  respectively  the 


numbers  of  deity  and  humanity  in  manifested  per- 
fection. Three  is  the  well-known  number  of  the 
Trinity  which  is  God's  manifestation  of  Himself  to 
man.  There  is  also  an  adaptation  of  the  three  to  the 
three  respective  persons  of  the  Trinity ;  the  Father  is 
the  subject  of  the  First  Commandment ;  Christ  is  in- 


1 82  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

volved  in  the  Second,  as  He  is  the  only  image  of  God 
we  are  permitted  to  see  or  know;  while  the  Third 
Commandment  looks  to  that  profanation  of  the  Holy- 
Spirit  which  has  no  forgiveness.  So  also  the  number 
seven  represents  the  perfection  of  human  conduct. 
Seven  is  three  added  to  four.  Four  is  the  scripture 
number  for  earth  and  humanity.  Three  added  to  four 
then  represents  the  perfections  of  God  added  to  man, 
or  perfect  human  conduct.  This  the  second  table  of 
the  law  demands.  Perfect  duty  to  God  and  man  then 
is  the  meaning  of  the  law. 

2.     Law  Before  Moses. 

The  Ten  Commandments  have  a  basis  in  the  laws 
given  before  the  time  of  Moses.  It  is  evident  that 
right  was  always  right  and  wrong  was  always  wrong. 
The  giving  of  the  Ten  Commandments  was  not  the 
origin  of  law. 

The  eating  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  by 
Adam  and  Eve  was  the  violation  of  every  command- 
ment. It  violated  the  First  by  acknowledging  an- 
other before  God.  It  violated  the  Second  by  seeking 
another  way  to  approach  God  than  that  which  He  had 
ordered.  It  violated  the  Third  by  profaning  the  name 
of  God  upon  them  as  well  as  by  their  use  of  His  name 
in  the  temptation.  It  violated  the  Fourth  by  break- 
ing the  Sabbath  of  rest  which  God  had  entered  upon 
and  in  which  they  lived.  It  violated  the  Fifth  by 
dishonoring  their  heavenly  Father.  It  violated  the 
Sixth  by  bringing  death  upon  themselves  and  others. 


The  Law  183 

It  violated  the  Seventh,  for  it  involved  sexual  sin.  It 
violated  the  Eighth,  for  they  took  what  was  not  theirs. 
It  violated  the  Ninth,  for  they  bore  false  witness 
against  God.  It  violated  the  Tenth,  by  coveting. 
So  also  the  tree  of  life  represents  the  reverse  of  all 
this,  the  keeping  of  the  law. 

We  see  the  germs  of  the  ceremonial  law  in  the 
skins  with  which  this  first  pair  were  clothed ;  for  that 
covering  meant  the  very  essence  of  sacrifice,  benefit 
by  the  death  of  another.  We  also  find  mention  of 
sacrifices  of  clean  animals  as  if  this  law  was  well  known. 
Certainly  this  must  have  been  by  revelation.  Special 
laws  were  given,  as  the  laws  regarding  the  Sabbath 
and  marriage  and  that  against  murder  given  to  Noah. 
The, curse  on  Ham  shows  a  knowledge  of  the  duty  of 
parental  honor.  The  sanctity  of  property  would  come 
with  the  possession  of  property.  So  that  the  germs 
of  all  the  laws  of  the  decalogue  were  in  the  world  be- 
fore the  time  of  Moses.  It  was  not  therefore  a  new 
standard  of  right  which  was  given  to  man  in  the  Ten 
Commandments,  but  one  as  eternal  as  God  Himself. 

3.     The  Scope  of  the  Law. 

The  Ten  Commandments  were  the  centre  and 
spring  of  all  the  system  of  law,  spiritual,  ethical, 
ceremonial  and  civil,  given  by  Moses.  Every  law  of 
any  kind  was  an  extension  of  one  or  more  of  these 
commandments.  One  may  take  his  Bible  and  with  a 
pencil  mark  opposite  each  of  the  commands  of  the 
Pentateuch,   however   various,  the  number  of   some 


184 


The  Bible  As  It  Is 


command  of  the  decalogue  under  which  it  comes. 
It  forms,  not  a  system  of  laws,  but  The  Law  and  it  is 
always  thus  designated  in  scripture  when  spoken  of 
collectively ;  so  that  to  break  it  in  one  place  was  to 
break  The  Law,  and,  if  wilful,  the  penalty  was  death. 
He  that  offendeth  in  one  point  is  guilty  of  all 
(Jas.  2 :  10). 

The  following  diagram  represents  this  unity  and 
relationship  of  the  various  parts  of  the  law.  It  is  to 
be  read  from  the  centre  outward. 


^. 


tAWS 


The  Law 


i8j 


We  will  give  under  each  command  the  general  class 
of  laws  which  it  covers. 

1.  The  First  Commandment  shut  up  Israel  to 
Jehovah  as  their  only  God  and  ruler.  The  whole 
system  of  government  with  all  its  civil  and  religious 
legislation  therefore  rested  upon  it.  All  subordinate 
rulers  were  representatives  of  Jehovah.  This  is 
still  the  principle  of  the  New  Testament  (Rom. 
13 :  1-4).  This  command  is  indeed  the  basis  of  all 
law  of  every  kind. 

2.  The  Second  Commandment,  forbidding  images 
as  a  wrong  way  of  worshiping  Jehovah,  is  the  force  of 
this,  for  the  idea  of  the  image  is  to  represent  the 
deity  in  or  behind  that  image.  The  forbidding  of 
the  false  way  of  worship  therefore  carries  the  right 
and  necessity  to  prescribe  the  true  way  of  worship. 
So  that  under  this  come  all  the  laws  of  worship  with 
respect  to  the  Tabernacle,  the  offerings  and  ceremonies 
of  every  kind.  In  short  the  whole  ceremonial  law 
rests  on  this,  as  the  whole  governmental  system  rests 
on  the  First  Commandment. 

3.  The  Third  Commandment,  the  keeping  sacred  of 
the  name  of  God,  covers  all  the  laws  called  specifically 
Laws  of  Holiness.  These  include  laws  regarding 
ceremonial  uncleanness  such  as  the  law  of  the  leper 
and  his  cleansing,  clean  and  unclean  food,  etc.  These 
rest  on  the  fact  that  Israel  is  God's  pecuHar  people, 
bearing  His  name  and  representing  His  cause  and 
rule,  and  ought  therefore  to  keep  themselves  sacred 
because  they  bear  His  name.     It  was  a  profanation 


1 86  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

of  the  name  of  God  to  defile  themselves.     This  is 
also  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  (Rom.  2  :  24). 

4.  The  Fourth  Commandment  respecting  the 
Sabbath  requires  the  keeping  of  one  seventh  of  the 
time  as  holy.  It  is  the  basis  of  all  sacred  time,  the 
seventh  year,  the  seventy  times  seven  or  Jubilee  year, 
and  also  the  whole  system  of  feasts  and  fasts.  In 
short  the  Sabbath  was  the  centre  of  the  whole 
religious  calendar. 

5.  On  the  Fifth  Commandment  rests  the  whole 
system  of  laws  of  the  home.  The  father  was  the 
ruler  by  right  natural  and  divine.  The  laws  of 
Moses  fixed  his  right  as  supreme  in  the  home.  The 
whole  family  life  rested  on  this  and  laws  as  to  servants 
and  the  aged  also. 

6.  The  sanctity  of  human  life,  with  all  the  laws 
relating  to  the  protection  of  life  rest  on  the  Sixth 
Commandment,  including  laws  regarding  murder, 
assault  and  cities  of  refuge. 

7.  On  the  Seventh  Commandment  rest  all  laws 
respecting  women,  divorce,  unchastity  and  marriage. 

8.  All  laws  respecting  property,  restitution,  dis- 
honesty, weights  and  measures,  usury,  land,  strays,  etc., 
are  based  on  the  Eighth  Commandment. 

9.  On  the  Ninth  Commandment  are  based  all 
laws  respecting  evidence,  trials,  judicial  proceedings, 
perjury  and  oaths. 

10.  All  laws  regarding  charity,  the  poor  and 
strangers,  tithes,  love  to  enemies,  etc.,  rest  on  the 
Tenth  Commandment. 


The  Law  187 

4.     The  Spiritual  Law. 

1.  The  law  is  first  of  all  spiritual  (Rom.  7  :  14). 
It  comes  from  a  spiritual  being,  and  reflects  God's 
nature.  The  commandments  are  all  based  on  the 
nature  of  God.  i.  God's  sovereignty.  2.  God's 
worship.  3.  God's  sanctity.  4.  God's  time.  5. 
God's  delegated  authority.  6.  God's  life  given.  7. 
God's  sanctity  in  marriage.  8.  Sanctity  of  owner- 
ship in  title  from  God.  9.  Sanctity  of  truth,  for  God 
is  truth.     10.  Sanctity  of  the  heart. 

The  law  is  a  transcript  of  the  righteousness  of  God. 
Now  Jesus  Christ  is  declared  to  be  the  righteousness 
of  God,  not  only  imputed,  but  personally,  for  He 
could  not  be  imputed  or  imparted  unless  He  had  it 
to  give.  We  must  therefore  see  in  Christ  the  perfect 
transcript  of  the  Law.  So  when  He  came  He  ful- 
filled the  law,  both  moral  and  ceremonial.  He  said 
He  came  to  fulfil  the  law.  He  also  taught  it.  The 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  a  sermon  on  the  law.  But 
it  was  in  Himself  and  in  His  Hfe  that  He  manifested 
the  perfect  law. 

2.  The  law  is  spiritual  because  it  works  through  a 
spiritual  relation  established  between  man  and  God. 
The  three  commandments  relating  to  God  precede 
the  seven  commandments  relating  to  man.  The  latter 
are  dependent  on  the  former.  There  would  be  no 
motive  for  the  keeping  of  any  commandment  if  the 
first  three  commandments  did  not  exist.  Man  must 
have  a  standard  of  right  and  wrong,  and  this  is  the 
will  of  God.     If  he  accepts  this,  he  is  in  right  rela- 


1 88  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

tionship  to  God  and  in  right  spirit  for  keeping  the 
commandments.  The  law  was  given  to  Israel,  who 
were  God's  people.  It  began,  ''I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God  which  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
and  out  of  the  house  of  bondage  "   (Ex.  20). 

3.  The  law  is  also  spiritual  because  it  appeals  to  a 
spiritual  nature.  Man  ''  has  a  law  of  God  written  in 
the  heart  "  (Rom.  2:15).  He  has  a  God-conscious- 
ness, which  is  the  principal  distinction  between  him 
and  the  brute.  This  awakened  becomes  a  spiritual 
life.  It  is  to  this  that  the  law  appeals  and  it  is  only 
this  that  can  keep  the  law.  The  Ten  Commandments 
are  ineffectual  with  natural  man.  Only  by  constant 
constraint  will  he  keep  them.  God  designed  this 
spiritual  nature  to  control  the  whole  man.  His  lower 
nature  is  to  obey  it,  and  only  thus  can  he  keep  the 
law. 

4.  The  law  is  spiritual  because  it  is  in  effect 
spiritual.  The  keeping  of  the  law  would  be  perfect 
love  to  God  and  man.  The  keeping  of  the  first  three 
commands  would  express  perfect  love  to  God.  The 
keeping  of  the  last  seven  would  express  perfect  love  to 
man.  This  is  seen  in  the  converse  of  this  statement. 
Perfect  love  to  God  would  keep  the  first  three  com- 
mandments ;  perfect  love  to  man  would  keep  the  last 
seven.  Or,  as  Christ  stated  it,  *'  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul  and 
with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  first  and  great  com- 
mandment ;  and  a  second  like  unto  it  is  thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.     On   these   two  com- 


The  Law  189 

mandments  hangeth  all  the  law  and  the  prophets  " 
(Matt.  22:  37-39). 

5.  The  law  is  spiritual  because  the  violating  of  the 
law  is  first  spiritual  before  it  is  actual  and  open.  It 
begins  with  unbelief  in  God.  If  man  truly  believed 
in  God,  in  His  goodness  and  faithfulness  and  wisdom, 
he  would  trust  and  obey  Him.  Either  through 
ignorance  of  God  or  through  a  perverted  mind,  he 
distrusts  and  therefore  seeks  other  ways  of  benefit. 

The  violation  begins  with  the  last  or  Tenth  Com- 
mandment. "Lust  when  it  hath  conceived  bringeth 
forth  sin,  and  sin  when  it  is  finished  bringeth  forth 
death"  (Jas.  i  :  15).  This  leads  along  the  way  of 
the  Ten  Commandments.  Lust  leads  to  deception ; 
it  conceals  itself  under  apparent  honesty,  then  comes 
theft  or  unchastity  or  murder  or  disobedience.  All 
profane  the  name  of  God.  The  sinner  seeks  some 
other  way  than  God's  to  make  himself  right,  so  viola- 
ting the  second  command ;  and  at  last  there  is  repudi- 
ation of  God  or  substitution  of  something  else  for 
him.  The  course  now  sweeps  backward  and  forward 
at  will  through  the  whole  law  without  restraint. 

6.  The  law  is  spiritual  because  it  expresses  the 
love  of  God  more  than  all  else,  save  His  giving  of 
Jesus  Christ.  It  is,  next  to  the  gospel,  the  greatest 
boon  to  humanity.  It  is  the  basis  of  all  civilization 
and  safety.  We  would  be  a  race  of  savages  without 
this  standard  of  right  and  the  blessings  which  even  its 
partial  observance  gives. 

Here  we  see  that  there  is  no  antagonism  between 


ipo  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

the  law  and  the  gospel;  both  come  from  the  same 
God,  require  the  same  relation,  appeal  to  the  same 
spiritual  nature  and  have  the  same  spiritual  effect. 

As  Dean  Alford  has  said,  "There  is  but  one  law 
of  God  partly  written  in  man's  consciences,  more 
plainly  manifested  in  the  laws  of  Moses,  and  fully 
revealed  in  Jesus  Christ"  (New  Testament  2  :  332). 

If  there  is  want  of  efficiency  in  the  law,  it  is  not 
because  it  is  unspiritual,  but  because  of  man's  un- 
spiritual  nature  and  the  presence  in  all  of  an  un- 
spiritual nature  called  the  flesh  which  cannot  keep 
the  law  of  God. 

5.     The  Ethical  Laws. 

The  Ten  Commandments  give  certain  great  princi- 
ples by  which  wise  and  especially  experienced  be- 
lievers can  decide  their  course,  but  the  Israelite  of 
that  day  was  not  such.  He  was  a  child  in  spiritual 
things  as  was  the  whole  of  mankind.  It  was  neces- 
sary therefore  to  give  him  specific  directions  as  to 
every  act  of  life  and  worship.  This  the  Mosaic  law 
does.  He  is  told  not  only  the  principles  of  right,  but 
the  application  of  these  principles.  He  is  given  a 
schedule  of  right  and  wrong  acts.  The  law  was  ex- 
tended into  all  phases  of  life  by  subsidiary  ethical 
laws  which  prescribed  what  to  do  in  specific  cases. 
In  some  cases,  perhaps  the  most  as  has  been  said, 
these  laws  came  from  actual  cases  which  came  up  in 
the  course  of  jurisprudence. 

Under  each  of  the  Ten   Commandments  will   be 


The  Law  191 

found  some  applications  of  them  to  actual  questions 
of  conduct.  The  law  forbidding  the  seething  of  a 
kid  in  its  mother's  milk  (Ex.  23  :  19),  besides  having 
reference  to  a  superstitious  rite  of  the  heathen,  was  to 
impress  sacredness  of  the  relation  of  parent  and  off- 
spring. The  care  for  human  life  taught  in  the  Sixth 
Commandment  gave  rise  to  the  command  to  build 
battlements  around  the  roofs  of  their  houses,  so  as  to 
prevent  any  one's  falling  off  (Deut.  22 :  8).  The 
Seventh  Commandment  was  the  basis  of  the  command 
to  give  a  divorced  wife  a  writing  of  divorcement 
(Deut.  24  :  i).  The  law  against  removing  a  land- 
mark was  but  an  extension  of  the  Eighth  Command- 
ment; so  tale-bearing  was  a  violation  of  the  Ninth 
Commandment  (Deut.  19  :  14).  The  laws  for  the 
poor  and  those  requiring  the  leaving  of  the  gleanings 
(Lev.  19  :  9),  would  spring  from  the  spirit  of  the 
Tenth  Commandment. 

This  minuteness  in  law  is  one  of  the  objections 
sometimes  made  to  the  whole  system ;  but  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  such  a  system  is  necessary  to  a  low 
state  of  spiritual  life  and  experience.  We  deal  so 
with  children.  We  cannot  expect  them  to  be  guided 
by  abstract  principles  as  in  older  life.  Israel  was  in 
such  a  state  of  childhood,  as  was  also  the  entire 
world  at  that  time.  It  was  the  child  state  of  the 
Church  (Gal.  4  :  1-3). 

This  answers  another  objection  as  to  the  imperfec- 
tion of  some  of  the  Mosaic  laws,  such  as  the  permis- 
sion of  polygamy  and  slavery,  and  retaliation.     This 


192  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

imperfection  was  admitted  by  Christ,  who  amended 
the  law  especially  as  to  retaliation  (Matt.  5  :  21,  27, 
33>  3^)-  The  great  principles  of  the  decalogue  are 
unchangeable,  but  their  application  by  these  subsidiary 
laws  can  be  and  was  modified  as  greater  light  de- 
manded. We  do  not  require  the  same  rules  of  life 
for  a  child  as  for  a  man,  for  an  idiot  as  for  a  sane 
person,  for  a  convert  just  from  heathenism  as  for  the 
aged  saint.  We  ourselves  are  not  living  in  a  state  of 
perfect  righteousness.  God's  own  holiness  is  far 
above  anything  man  knows,  or  can  conceive  of,  as 
yet.  Sinful  man,  even  regenerated  man,  cannot  bear 
the  full  light  of  the  absolute  and  perfect  holiness  of 
God. 

The  study  of  the  moral  law  suggests  the  difference 
between  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  ethics. 
The  Old  Testament  ethics  rested  on  specific  com- 
mands; the  New  Testament  on  great  moral  and 
spiritual  principles,  as  the  golden  rule  already  re- 
ferred to,  which  acted  upon  would  keep  the  law  so 
far  as  our  conduct  towards  man  is  concerned.  Love 
is  the  short  cut  to  morality  if  embodied  in  the  heart. 
It  works  from  the  centre  outward  instead  of  from  the 
circumference  inward.  It  affects  the  heart  first  and 
the  life  afterwards  in  consequence.  Only  the  con- 
duct which  comes  from  this  changed  state  of  heart  is 
real  or  accepted  of  God.  The  young  ruler,  though 
he  did  all  that  the  law  commanded,  which  Christ  ad- 
mitted, yet  lacked  one  thing,  the  changed  heart. 
Morality   is   one  thing,   spirituality  another.     Chris. 


The  Law  193 

tian  ethics  spring  from  spirituality;  the  moraUst's 
from  other  motives  all  more  or  less  selfish  and  weak. 
The  great  principle  which  the  New  Testament 
gives  is  love.  One  who  has  the  love  of  God 
has  the  love  of  His  law  also,  and  the  psalmists  are 
continually  breaking  out  in  such  expressions  as, 
''Oh!  how  love  I  Thy  law."  The  principle  of 
love  already  referred  to  will  keep  the  law,  there- 
fore the  New  Testament  narrows  all  down  to  that. 
The  Talmud  says  that  there  are  six  hundred  and 
thirteen  injunctions  given  by  Moses ;  David  reduced 
them  to  eleven  (Ps.  15);  Isaiah  reduced  them  to 
six  (33:  15);  Micah  to  three  (6:8).  It  might 
add  that  Jesus  reduced  them  to  two.  ''Thoushalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  .  .  .  and  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself"  (Matt.  22:  37).  Paul  still  further  con- 
denses them  when  he  says  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of 
the  law  "  (Rom.  13:  10). 

6.     The  Civil  Laws. 

The  principles  of  the  decalogue  extended,  as  has 
been  said,  to  all  the  spheres  of  life ;  therefore  to  the 
political  and  social  state.  It  has  been  shown  that  the 
whole  civil  system  of  Israel  rested  upon  the  First 
Command,  "Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before 
me."  This  rested  first  on  God's  call  and  deliverance 
of  them  as  a  nation  from  Egyptian  bondage  (Ex. 
20  :  2,  3),  and  that  on  the  covenant  made  with  Abra- 
ham (Ex.  3:6). 

Jehovah  was  Israel's  Sovereign.     We  call  this  form 


194  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

of  government  a  Theocracy,  The  Reign  of  God. 
They  on  their  part  were  His  peculiar  people  (Deut. 
14  ;  2),  and  He  asked  and  provided  for  allegiance 
solely  to  Himself.  It  was  therefore  a  Church  State 
and  had  a  State  Church.  These  two  must  go  to- 
gether. It  is  useless  to  provide  a  state  church  if  there 
is  not  a  church  state.  All  laws  were  God's  laws, 
whether  civil  or  religious.  The  whole  people  were  a 
sacred  people,  their  land  consecrated,  their  time  holy, 
their  position  to  the  rest  of  the  world  as  a  nation  of 
priests  or  a  priestly  nation.  We  must  consider  the 
form  of  government  in  its  ideal  rather  than  its  actual 
state  as  existing  in  Israel's  history.  What  we  should 
strive  to  ascertain  is  the  actual  state  of  things  given 
by  God  to  Israel. 

1.  The  first  principle  that  God  gave  them  was 
liberty.  Everything  was  submitted  to  their  choice. 
Even  Jehovah  Himself  submitted  to  the  nation's 
choice  as  to  whether  they  would  have  Him  for  their 
God  and  ruler  (Ex.  4:  29-31).  Thus  also  He  sub- 
mitted the  law  for  their  acceptance  (Ex.  24 :  7). 
When  they  wanted  a  king  they  were  given  one  chosen 
of  God,  but  submitted  to  their  choice  (i  Sam. 
10  :  24 ;  2  Sam.  2  :  4 ;  5  :  3).  They  had  the  right  of 
suffrage  and  elected  their  subordinate  rulers. 

2.  It  was  a  constitutional  government.  The  law 
of  Moses  was  such  a  document  as  was  necessary  for 
this.  With  the  Abrahamic  Covenant  it  bound  both 
Jehovah  and  the  nation.  It  safeguarded  the  rights 
of  the  people  as  well  as  of  the  king.     It  was  formally 


The  Law  195 

ratified  by  a  covenant  of  blood  after  the  rites  of  that 
day  (Ex.  24:  6-8).  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Israel 
had  the  two  great  fundamental  principles  of  modern 
government,  and  that  thousands  of  years  ago.  The 
political  privileges  of  the  freest  and  most  enlightened 
nations  to-day  are  based  on  these  principles. 

3.  The  twelve  tribes  formed  a  union  of  states  in- 
dependent within  their  respective  boundaries  in  local 
matters,  but  all  bound  together  by  this  great  body  of 
laws  and  the  relations  which  sprang  from  it.  Each 
tribe  maintained  its  own  tribal  form  and  rule.  There 
were  princes  and  elders  of  each  tribe.  From  these 
were  formed  certain  national  bodies. 

(i.)  The  Seventy  Elders  (Ex.  24:  i-g;  Num. 
II  :  16)  formed  a  central  deliberative  body,  which  we 
hear  of  as  acting  for  the  nation. 

(2.)  A  larger  body  was  that  sometimes  called  The 
Congregation.  This  was  not  the  entire  nation,  men, 
women  and  children,  but  selected  representatives  who 
could  and  did  meet  and  confer  (Num.  10 :  3,  4). 
This  was  the  highest  body  in  the  nation.  These  two 
bodies  corresponded  to  our  houses  of  congress  or 
houses  of  parliament.  The  Seventy  Elders  were  the 
Senate  or  House  of  Lords;  the  larger  body,  the 
House  of  Representatives,  or  Commons. 

(3.)  Of  less  importance  were  the  tribal  officers  and 
elders  and  princes  and  heads -of  families.  Besides 
these,  or  including  these,  were  the  rulers  of  tens, 
hundreds,  and  thousands,  specially  chosen  to  assist 
Moses  and  continued  afterwards  (Ex.  18  ;  13-27). 


196  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

(4.)  The  priesthood  was  a  permanent  order  of  the 
family  of  Aaron.  The  duties  of  the  priests  at  first  were 
purely  religious,  but  afterwards  they  took  part  in  the 
government  as  did  EH  (i  Sam.  4  :  18).  This  body  of 
priests  gave  steadiness  to  the  government ;  they  inter- 
preted the  law.  It  answered  therefore  to  our  Supreme 
Court. 

(5.)  Another  office  was  that  of  prophet.  This  was 
neither  elective  nor  hereditary.  Men  were  called  by 
God  and  sent  into  the  nation  to  speak  for  God,  who 
thus  gave  them  communications  from  Himself.  The 
prophets  gave  guidance  and  often  reproof  as  they 
were  instructed  by  God,  and  more  than  once  restored 
the  government  when  on  the  verge  of  anarchy  or  mis- 
rule. The  prophet  spoke  for  God  to  the  people.  The 
priest  spoke  for  the  people  to  God. 

As  the  nation  grew  they  added  treasurers,  recorders, 
rulers  over  the  host,  counsellors,  directors  of  the 
tribute  and  other  officers.  But  we  are  now  only  to 
look  at  those  provided  for  in  the  Mosaic  Law. 

4.  God  gradually  gave  the  nation  self-government. 
He  spoke  directly  from  Mount  Sinai.  He  accom- 
panied them  after  that  by  an  angel.  At  last  He  spoke 
only  through  Moses ;  and  in  Canaan,  by  prophets  who 
came  as  needed. 

5.  The  judicial  part  of  the  government  was  com- 
mitted to  a  regular  system  of  ascending  courts.  Such 
were  the  rulers  of  tens,  hundreds  and  thousands  (Ex. 
18  :  20)  above  mentioned ;  the  Supreme  Court,  as  be- 
fore stated,  being  composed  of  the  priesthood. 


The  Law  197 

The  whole  tribe  of  Levi  was  selected  for  the  service 
of  the  Tabernacle.  They  were  assigned  special 
duties  such  as  that  of  song,  and  the  care  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle itself,  and  served  in  courses,  living  in  cities 
assigned  to  them  throughout  the  whole  nation  and 
coming  up  at  their  appointed  seasons. 

Whether  all  this  system  was  in  perfect  use  at  any 
one  time  it  is  difficult  to  say,  but  probably  not.  A 
perfect  system  of  law  does  not  ensure  a  perfect  gov- 
ernment. Law  then,  as  now,  often  was  neglected, 
and  the  actual  was  far  below  the  ideal.  But  this  out- 
line shows  the  perfect  system  as  ordered  for  Israel.  It 
contains  the  features  of  the  most  advanced  forms  of 
modern  government  and  all  such  are,  knowingly  or 
not,  copies  of  this ;  all  of  which  proves  the  divinity 
of  the  whole,  for  this  was  given  thousands  of  years 
ago  when  the  world  had  no  such  governments,  as  we 
have  now,  and  still  less  any  such  ideas  of  liberty  and 
security.  Constitutional  government  and  liberty  were 
first  taught  by  Moses  as  revealed  to  him  by  God. 

The  Criminal  Code. 

The  criminal  laws  of  Moses  are  to-day  the  basis  of 
the  codes  of  all  civilized  lands.  They  cover  the  fol- 
lowing essential  points  : 

I .  The  Home.  The  Fifth  Commandment  secures 
this  element  of  civilization.  The  home  of  all  civi- 
lized lands  is  a  copy  of  Israel's.  The  servants'  rights 
were  guarded.  A  mild  form  of  slavery  was  allowed  ; 
but   this   institution  was  universal,   and   the  servant 


198  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

or  slave  was  protected,  and  no  Hebrew  slave  allowed. 
The  service  was  made  in  a  large  degree  voluntary. 
Provision  was  made  for  emancipation  every  fiftieth 
year. 

2.  Protection  of  life  was  secured.  Death  for 
murder  was  commanded,  but  justice  in  this  was  se- 
cured by  the  Cities  of  Refuge.  The  infliction  of  the 
death  penalty  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  nearest 
of  kin,  as  is  done  in  all  such  lands.  This  secured 
quick  execution  which  is  the  value  of  all  penalty. 

3.  Women  were  protected  and  honored  among  the 
Hebrews.  The  wife  was  in  a  place  of  honor  and 
safety.  Divorce  was  allowed,  but  was  secured  from 
abuse  by  writings  of  divorce  officially  issued.  Adul- 
tery was  severely  punished. 

4.  The  rights  of  property  were  secured.  Restitu- 
tion was  made  and  fines  imposed. 

5.  Trials  were  secured  from  injustice  by  rigorous 
laws  against  bribes  and  false  swearing. 

Some  of  the  various  penalties  inflicted  were  fining, 
restitution,  retaliation  for  bodily  injuries,  flogging  to 
the  extent  of  forty  stripes  save  one,  and  death  by 
stoning  or  the  sword.  No  torturing  was  allowed,  and 
their  methods  of  execution  were  quick  and  compara- 
tively painless.  There  were  not  many  imprisonments, 
a  kind  of  punishment  which  at  best  is  doubtful  in  its 
effects,  on  the  prisoner  at  least. 

The  Mosaic  code  is  sometimes  said  to  be  cruel  be- 
cause under  it  over  a  dozen  crimes  were  punished  by 
death.     In  view  of  the  fact  that  up  to  two  hundred  years 


The  Law  i99 

ago  there  were  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  such  in 
Great  Britain,  Moses'  law  seems  merciful  in  comparison, 
especially  when  we  consider  the  early  age  in  which  it  was 
given  and  the  world's  general  spirit  of  disregard  for 
human  rights  and  human  life.  The  laws  of  a  religious 
nature  calling  for  the  death  penalty  were  based  on  the 
principle  that  Jehovah  was  their  rightful  sovereign,  and 
that  therefore  idolatry  and  blasphemy  and  other  such 
crimes  were  treason  against  their  sovereign,  and  sub- 
versive of  the  whole  system  of  rule  and  safety. 

The  Social  System. 

The  Mosaic  laws  passed  out  over  the  social  state 
and  effected  it  accordingly.  The  life  of  the  Israelite 
was  mainly  agricultural,  pastoral  or  horticultural,  or  a 
mingling  of  all.  They  lived  in  villages  and  went  out 
to  the  fields  to  work.  This  gave  the  society  of  the 
town  and  the  advantages  of  the  country.  The  isola- 
tion of  country  life  is  in  many  places  its  great  disad- 
vantage. 

Land  was  given  in  homesteads  and  these  were  in- 
alienable. At  the  end  of  every  fifty  years  all  home- 
steads were  to  go  back  free  to  their  owners.  This 
further  checked  monopolies  and  the  forming  of  vast 
landed  estates.  Every  man  had  a  chance  once  in  his 
life. 

The  contracting  of  heavy  indebtedness  was  made 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  by  the  law  that  at  the  end 
of  every  seven  years  all  debts  were  declared  can- 
celed.    This   would   be   a  hardship   to  creditors  if 


200  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

enacted  now  or  where  debts  already  existed,  but  to 
begin  with  such  a  law  no  wrong  was  done  and  great 
evils  were  prevented.  Moses  provided  for  doing  all 
business  on  a  cash  basis.  This  prevented  all  corporate 
and  communal  indebtedness.  The  debts  of  many 
nations  and  communities  are  to-day  unpayable,  there 
is  no  intention  of  paying  them,  and  they  are  increas- 
ing. No  such  state  could  exist  under  Moses'  legisla- 
tion. This  was  a  great  check  on  monopolies  also,  for 
it  is  the  right  to  borrow  money  and  issue  bonds  which 
largely  gives  these  their  power. 

Sanitary  laws  were  enacted  also  ;  and  cleanliness  of 
person  and  premises  was  commanded.  When  the  state 
of  these  eastern  lands  is  considered  in  these  respects, 
the  high  nature  of  his  legislation  is  noticeable.  The 
constant  washings  provided  for  under  the  law,  while 
largely  ceremonial  in  their  immediate  motive,  had  a 
hygienic  value  also.  The  distinction  between  clean 
and  unclean  animals  then  laid  down  to-day  forms  the 
line  between  the  food  of  civilized  and  that  of  other 
nations.  Isolation  of  contagious  diseases  was  also 
commanded.  The  whole  effect  of  this  legislation  is 
seen  in  the  Jews  to-day,  although  only  partially  ob- 
served. They  have  little  or  no  scrofula.  Among 
them  only  half  the  number  of  infants  die  as  among 
other  nations  and  the  average  length  of  life  is  a  fourth 
greater. 

The  laws  of  rest  need  to  be  noticed ;  not  only 
those  respecting  the  Sabbath,  the  essential  of  health, 
but  those  pertaining  to  the  frequent  festivals  which 


The  Law  201 

were  social  as  well  as  religious  and  were  a  means  of 
recreation.  One  whole  year  in  every  seven  was  given 
in  which  no  crops  were  to  be  sown,  all  debts  were  to 
be  canceled  and  servants  freed.  The  fiftieth  year 
was  the  climax  of  the  Israelitish  system ;  at  that  time 
all  homesteads  were  restored,  all  debts  cancelled,  all 
servants  released  and  all  the  people  rested. 

The  question  naturally  occurs,  what  was  the  ap- 
plication of  all  this  and  what  was  the  effect,  and  what 
is  the  possibility  to-day  of  the  application  of  such  a 
system  ? 

The  whole  coloring  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
Mosaic ;  yet  this  system  of  laws  was  probably  never 
observed  as  it  should  have  been,  any  more  than  the 
best  laws  are  so  observed  to-day.  But  it  was  enacted 
sufficiently  to  observe  its  general  effect  which  is  thus 
stated.  "Israel  dwelt  safely,  every  man  under  his 
vine  and  under  his  fig  tree.  .  .  .  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  were  many,  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the 
sea  in  multitude,  eating  and  drinking  and  making 
merry  (i  Kings  14:  20,  25). 

Can  this  system  be  enacted  to-day  ?  We  are  living 
in  a  time  when  social  questions  are  in  the  mind  of  all. 
Therefore  this  question  is  an  interesting  and  timely 
one. 

There  are  three  necessities  often  mentioned  as 
essential  for  a  successful  life  for  man,  animal  or  plant ; 
heredity,  environment  and  development. 

These  three  God  used  in  Israel.  He  began  with  a 
selected  race,  sifted,  as  has  been  seen,  from  the  world. 


202  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

He  also  had  a  spiritual  race  as  compared  with  the 
world  at  large,  that  is  a  race  that  knew  of  God  and 
had  a  spiritual  conception  of  Him ;  there  were  also 
among  them  many  really  spiritual  people.  This  is  the 
essential  of  the  divine  law.  Neither  in  its  spiritual 
nor  civil  aspects  is  it  possible  but  as  embodied  in  a 
spiritual  people.  It  was  the  failure  of  the  people 
themselves  that  at  last  brought  the  whole  system  down 
to  ruin.  It  failed  by  reason  of  the  failure  of  human 
nature,  and  that  remains  the  same  to-day.  Environ- 
ment is  the  second  need;  a  land  rightly  situated 
to  give  freedom  from  contact  with  the  wicked 
world  about  them,  yet  at  its  centre  to  affect  it 
favorably,  with  sufficient  food  and  other  necessaries 
of  Hfe.  The  development  of  the  Hebrews  was  under 
the  direct  reign  of  God  Himself.  Given  these  three 
qualifications,  and  this  system  may  be  enacted  any- 
where. These  however  are  the  very  qualifications  now 
lacking  and  there  is  no  prospect  of  their  coming  in 
our  present  order  of  things ;  so  that,  under  these  con- 
ditions, this  system  is  now  not  actually  practicable. 
But  so  far  as  any  nation  adopts  the  principles  of  the 
Bible,  it  enjoys  this  state ;  and  the  more  it  conforms 
to  them,  the  better  will  be  the  state  of  its  people. 

There  are  also  great  spiritual  lessons  which,  after 
all,  are  the  residuum  of  value  from  all  this  history  and 
this  great  national  experiment.  In  this  experiment 
God  did  show  what  a  nation  might  be  under  present 
conditions  with  obedience  to  Him. 

It  is  evident  that  such  a  system  of  law  would  soon 


The  Law  203 

be  known  and  admired  and  copied  by  other  nations, 
and  this  was  the  purpose  of  God  in  giving  it.  Israel 
was  to  be  a  national  teacher.  Again  and  again  it  is 
said  that  God's  glory  was  at  this  time  declared 
throughout  the  earth.  The  influence  of  Israel  upon  the 
world  at  that  time  is  a  neglected  but  fruitful  theme. 
It  will  yet  be  found  that  all  that  this  world  has  had 
of  useful  progress  has  been  inspired  in  ancient  as  well 
as  in  modern  times  by  the  word  of  God  given  to  His 
people.  The  rise  of  the  great  civilizations  of  Rome 
and  Greece  was  at  the  time  of  the  downfall  and  dis- 
persion of  the  Israelites  through  the  world.  Such  a 
people  and  such  a  system  could  not  fail  to  affect 
mankind.  We  are  told  "all  the  kings  of  the  earth 
came  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon."  This  was 
about  four  hundred  years  after  Moses.  Here  is  direct 
evidence  of  the  universal  effort  of  the  Mosaic  system 
upon  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    CEREMONIAL    LAW 

A  LARGE  part  of  the  Pentateuch  is  taken  up  with 
laws  regarding  ceremonials,  such  as  the  consecration 
of  priests,  offerings,  purifications  from  certain  defile- 
ments, prohibitions  of  certain  food,  and  commands 
respecting  feasts  and  ceremonies.  Some  of  these, 
such  as  those  relating  to  feasts,  washing  after  touching 
dead  bodies,  and  the  use  of  clean  and  unclean  food, 
have  a  physical  value,  but  many  have  only  a  cere- 
monial value,  and  even  those  mentioned  have  their 
principal  sanction  in  their  ceremonial  meaning. 
Therefore  the  rehgious  and  spiritual  meaning  is  the 
great  matter ;  they  were  great  object  lessons  to  teach 
great  spiritual  truths. 

Certain  underlying  principles  need  to  be  understood 
before  the  spiritual  meaning  can  be  grasped. 

1.  The  whole  system  rested  on  the  fact  that  the 
Israelites  were  Jehovah's  people  and  He  was  their 
God.  This  was  provided  for  in  the  Abrahamic 
covenant  and  by  their  own  assent  in  the  covenant  at 
Mount  Sinai. 

2.  This  relation  required,  on  their  part,  holiness. 
They  were  to  be  holy  because  they  were  in  such  rela- 
tions to  Jehovah.     '*Be   ye   holy   for   I   am  holy." 

204 


The  Ceremonial  Law  205 

While  much  of  the  moral  law  looked  to  man,  the 
ceremonial  law  looked  to  God.  It  was  with  God  in 
mind  that  they  offered  sacrifices  and  performed  cere- 
monies. 

3.  He  taught  them  what  holiness  was  by  these 
outward  ceremonies.  Physical  cleanliness  taught  the 
greater  need  of  spiritual  cleanliness.  God  fenced 
Himself  off  from  them  by  these  laws,  requiring  such 
offerings  and  performances  as  to  teach  them  His  own 
holiness  and  the  need  of  holiness  on  their  part.  Sin- 
ful man  could  not  approach  a  holy  God  without 
preparation. 

4.  There  was  a  deeper  meaning  still.  Besides 
personal  holiness,  there  was  also  an  imputed  hohness 
taught  them  as  necessary.  They  were  shown  that, 
even  with  all  that  they  could  do,  there  remained  the 
need  of  a  perfect  holiness  that  only  God  Himself 
could  furnish  them.  The  offerings  therefore  pointed 
to  this.  It  was  the  same  imputed  righteousness  that 
we  enjoy,  only  then  it  was  in  the  future  as  far  as  ac- 
complishment was  concerned.  To  us  it  is  accom- 
plished in  the  death  and  atonement  of  Christ.  There- 
fore we  can  see  the  gospel  of  Christ  in  these 
offerings,  just  as  we  can  see  Christian  hoUness  in  the 
laws  for  holiness  and  Christian  enjoyment  in  the 
feasts. 

The  order  in  which  the  ceremonial  part  of  the 
Pentateuch  should  be  studied  is  that  in  which  it  is 
given.  Exodus  closes  with  the  Tabernacle  erected, 
Leviticus  gives  next  the  offerings,  the  consecration  of 


2o6  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

the  priests,  the  laws  of  hoHness  and  the  feasts.  This 
then  is  the  order  of  study :  i .  The  place  of  worship, 
the  Tabernacle.  2.  The  offerings.  3.  The  Priests. 
4.  The  laws  of  holiness.  5.  The  Feasts.  Alliter- 
atively  the  whole  may  be  summarized  in  four  words, 
Sanctuary,  Sacrifice,  Separation,  Satisfaction.  This 
will  also  be  found  to  be  a  summary  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  We  are  to  seek  nearness  to  God  by  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  who  is  our  holiness,  and  in  Him 
we  have  the  blessed  life  which  is  portrayed  in  the 
feasts. 

I.     The  Tabernacle. 

The  Tabernacle  was  the  residence  of  Jehovah 
among  the  people.  It  was  not  a  meeting-house  for 
the  people  as  our  churches  are,  for  it  was  a  very 
small  building,  and  only  the  priests  were  allowed  to 
enter.  It  was  a  meeting-place  of  the  people  through 
their  priests  with  Jehovah.  The  people  sometimes 
met  at  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle  on  occasions  of 
solemnity  or  national  importance. 

The  following  diagram  gives  the  ground  plan  of  the 
Tabernacle. 

It  was  a  tent-shaped  structure  made  of  boards  and 
curtains  and  surrounded  with  a  fence  of  curtains. 
The  whole  enclosure  was  seventy-five  feet  wide  by 
one  hundred  and  fifty  long.  The  Tabernacle  itself 
was  about  fifteen  by  forty-five  feet.  It  was  divided 
into  two  parts,  one  fifteen  by  thirty  feet  called  the 
Holy  Place,  and  the  other  and  inner  apartment  a  per- 


The  Ceremonial  Law 


207 


WeglEnd.,7Sft.    JOpdlars 


ISJt. 


y  |D 


dcora. 
'0-O-CKH5' 


I 


O 

Lccver 


D 


Smnt  Qffainff. 


;  ''so-fb.  ' 

Crourf^  4>Un  of  Courr  of  Tab«rtacle. 


2o8  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

feet  cube  of  ten  cubits  or  fifteen  feet.  This  was 
called  the  Holy  of  Holies  or  Holiest,  or  sometimes 
the  Sanctuary,  though  this  name  was  also  sometimes 
given  to  the  whole  Tabernacle.  It  was  this  smaller, 
inner  apartment  which  was  the  presence  chamber  of 
Jehovah.  It  contained  only  the  ark,  and  the 
cherubim  upon  it.  The  ark  was  a  small  chest  covered 
by  a  lid  on  which  stood  the  figures  of  two  angelic 
beings  made  of  gold,  bending  over  it  in  reverence 
with  extended  wings. 

In  the  ark  were  the  two  tables  of  stone  containing 
the  Ten  Commandments  engraven  upon  them. 
Aaron's  rod  was  afterwards  placed  within  it  and  a 
pot  of  the  manna.  As  we  have  before  seen  it  was 
upon  this  law  that  the  cherubim  looked  down  with 
reverence.  It  was  upon  the  lid  of  this  ark  contain- 
ing this  law  that  the  presence  of  Jehovah  was  mani- 
fested in  brightness,  as  the  Jews  say,  and  so  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe.  It  was  upon  the  lid  of  the 
ark  containing  the  law,  and  just  over  it,  that  the  blood 
of  the  greatest  sacrifice  of  the  year  was  sprinkled  on 
the  Day  of  Atonement.  It  was  called  the  Mercy 
Seat,  that  is  the  place  where  Jehovah  received  the 
offering  of  the  sacrifice  and  gave  mercy  or  forgive- 
ness and  blessing. 

The  law  was  thus  the  centre  of  the  whole  Taber- 
nacle and  consequently  of  the  whole  religious  system 
of  Israel;  so  that,  not  only  the  whole  law  centred 
about  the  decalogue,  but  also  the  whole  ceremonial 
system.     It  was  from  this  Mercy  Seat  that  the  whole 


The  Ceremonial  Law  209 

of  Leviticus  was  spoken  to  Moses.  It  was  on  the 
basis  of  this  law  and  its  requirements  that  the  whole 
ceremonial  ritual  rested.  The  law  represented  the 
perfect  holiness  one  must  have  who  approached  Je- 
hovah, and,  as  none  had  that  holiness,  the  sprinkled 
blood  was  the  only  plea  or  ground  of  acceptance  that 
Jehovah  would  receive. 

The  other  parts  and  articles  of  the  Tabernacle  were 
all  secondary  and  auxiliary  to  this  central  part  and 
its  meaning.  The  altar  of  sacrifice  at  the  door  of 
the  Tabernacle  in  the  outer  court  showed  the  sacrifice 
necessary  to  offer  in  order  to  enter;  the  laver,  the 
cleansing  also  necessary  before  offering;  the  table 
of  shew  bread,  the  sacred  food  of  one  so  entering ; 
the  candlestick  or  lampstand,  the  type  of  the  life  of 
such  ;  the  altar  of  incense,  the  prayer  and  praise  with 
which  one  should  approach  Jehovah.  The  whole  had 
one  great  lesson,  the  holiness  of  Jehovah  and  conse- 
quently the  holiness  required  of  those  who  approached 
Him  in  worship. 

The  Tabernacle  as  a  whole  and  in  all  its  parts  is 
the  most  remarkable  type  of  Christ  in  the  Bible. 
When  we  consider  that  it  was  shown  to  Moses  in  a 
vision  and  the  particulars  of  its  construction  accu- 
rately and  minutely  directed  by  God,  we  must  believe 
that  it  was  deeply  significant.  The  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  especially  dwells  upon  this  typical  use  of  the 
Tabernacle,  the  high  priesthood  and  the  mediatorial 
work  of  Christ.  As  the  Tabernacle  was  the  dwelling- 
place  of  God  among  Israel,  so  Christ  was  the  dwelling- 


2IO  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

place  of  God  on  earth  (John  i  :  14).  The  Holy  of 
Holies,  especially  the  Mercy  Seat,  the  lid  of  the  ark, 
was  the  meeting-place  of  mercy  and  justice.  Thus 
Christ  is  our  propitiation  or  mercy-seat  (Rom.  3 :  25  ; 
I  John  2  :  2).  The  rent  veil  at  His  death  (Matt. 
27:51)  typified  His  flesh  (Heb.  10:20).  The 
High  Priest  entering  with  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice 
shadowed  forth  Christ  entering  Heaven  with  His  own 
blood,  for  the  same  purpose  of  making  propitiation  for 
His  people's  sin. 

This  was  the  culminating  act  in  the  Tabernacle 
service ;  but  every  part  was  significant.  The  altar  of 
sacrifice  was  the  cross;  the  laver,  the  sanctifying 
work  of  the  Spirit ;  the  altar  of  incense,  the  daily 
work  of  intercession  by  Christ ;  the  shew  bread,  the 
flesh  or  word  of  Christ;  the  candlestick,  the  Church 
kept  in  the  true  light  by  Christ  (Rev.  i  :  12,  13,  20). 
The  heavenly  privileges  of  the  believer  are  repre- 
sented by  the  pot  of  manna  (Rev.  2:  17).  The 
gospel  was  thus  preached  to  that  early  age  in  object 
lessons  and  pictures.  Few  of  the  people  could  read, 
there  were  few  books  and  our  Christian  terms  could 
not  have  been  understood.  Doubtless  the  spiritually 
minded  understood,  but  it  required  study.  This  ex- 
plains the  frequent  references  to  meditation  on  the 
law  and  delight  in  it  expressed  in  the  psalms  and 
other  devotional  writings. 

2.     The  Offerings. 
The  offerings  were  of  many  kinds.     There  were, 


The  Ceremonial  Law 


211 


however,  five  principal  elementary  offerings.  These 
singly  or  in  combination  formed  the  greater  part  of 
the  ritual  of  the  Tabernacle.  They  are  found  in 
Leviticus  in  order  (Chs.  1-7).  The  burnt-offering,  the 
meal-offering,  the  peace-offering,  the  sin-offering,  the 
trespass-offering.  With  these  God  represented  Him- 
self as  surrounded.  The  diagram  represents  them 
thus  arranged : 


The  diagram  is  to  be  read  first  as  given  in  the 
order  in  Leviticus,  from  the  centre  outward,  and 
afterwards  from  the  outside  inward.  We  are  first  to 
see  Christ  in  the  offerings  and  then  to  see  the  way  of 
salvation  in  them.  Read  from  the  centre  outward, 
we  see  Christ  in  the  offerings,  as  coming  down  from 
God  for  man's  salvation.  Read  from  the  outside  in- 
ward, we  see  man  approaching  God  in  the  way  made 
by  Christ  in  His  death  as  typified  in  the  offerings. 
Looking  at  them  in  the  first  order  named,  we  take 
them  up  as  follows  : 


212  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

1.  The  burnt-offering  was  wholly  burnt  up.  It 
represents  Christ  in  perfect  consecration  to  the  Father 
and  so  giving  Himself  to  Him  to  do  His  will  (Ps. 
40  :  6-8 ;  Phil.  2  :  6-8).  The  greatest  motive  of 
Christ  was  to  do  the  will  of  the  Father ;  so  He  said 
again  and  again. 

2.  The  meal-offering  was  the  next.  It  is  called 
the  meat-offering  from  the  old  use  of  the  word  meat  as 
indicating  food.  ''  Meal  "  is  better  and  expresses  the 
true  meaning.  The  meal  offering  expresses  Christ's 
perfect  devotion  in  the  sacrifice  of  incarnation  (John 
1 2  :  24).  It  is  the  sacrifice  of  service.  It  looks  to  the 
preaching  of  the  word.  It  was  to  be  anointed  with 
oil,  the  type  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  anointing  of 
which  gave  Christ  His  name,  Christ  the  anointed  one. 
It  had  frankincense  offered  with  it,  the  type  of  grace 
and  favor.  It  had  also  salt,  the  type  of  purity  and 
pungency  and  fidelity.  It  was  to  have  no  leaven, 
the  type  of  evil ;  nor  honey,  the  type  of  human  grati- 
fication (Prov.  25  :  27).  A  little  was  offered  on  the 
altar,  the  rest  eaten  by  Aaron  and  his  sons.  Christ's 
words  were  for  man. 

3.  The  peace-offering.  Part  of  this  was  burnt 
upon  the  altar,  part  was  eaten  by  the  offerer,  and  part 
by  the  priest.  It  represents  Christ  entering  into  fel- 
lowship and  identity  with  man  (Heb.  4 :  15)  by  which 
He  could  effect  His  mediatorial  work.  Being  already 
in  identity  with  God,  He  was  a  partaker  of  both  na- 
tures, and  so  fit  to  be  man's  representative  as  well  as 
God's. 


The  Ceremonial  Law  213 

4.  The  sin-offering.  This  was  burned  without  the 
camp,  and  represents  the  work  upon  the  cross,  Calvary- 
being  outside  of  the  city  gates.  On  the  cross  Christ 
was  "made  sin  for  us"  (2  Cor.  5  :  21). 

Atonement  is  the  great  word  in  Leviticus.  It  oc- 
curs fifty  times.  On  the  day  of  atonement  occurred 
the  great  presentation  of  this  sin-offering.  It  is  this 
that  the  writer  of  Hebrews  has  in  mind.  The  blood 
of  this  offering  typifies  the  blood  of  Christ  that  He 
carries  into  heaven  for  us. 

The  meaning  of  this  offering  or  sacrifice  involved 
several  ideas. 

(i)  Substitution.  The  animal  was  given  in  place 
of  the  offerer.  He  identified  himself  with  it  by  pla- 
cing his  hand  on  its  head. 

(2)  Imputation.  The  offerer's  guilt  or  righteous- 
ness was  imputed  to  the  offering.  It  was  held  ac- 
countable for  whatever  of  sin  was  charged  to  the 
person  offering  it. 

(3)  Retribution.  The  penalty  deserved  by  the 
guilty  was  visited  upon  the  victim.  It  was  death ; 
the  animal  was  slain.  The  penalty  of  sin  against  the 
holy  God  was  death.  The  blood  shed  was  the  evi- 
dence of  that.  It  was  life  for  life.  Blood  is  life, 
therefore  blood  shed  was  life  given  up. 

(4)  Satisfaction.  Not  satisfaction  as  the  word  is 
used  conversationally,  but  in  the  judicial  sense.  Jus- 
tice was  satisfied  in  the  penalty  visited  upon  the 
victim,  that  is  in  its  death. 

(5)  Propitiation.     Justice   having   been   satisfied, 


214  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

there  is  propitiation  made.  There  are  no  longer 
claims  against  the  guilty.  The  same  word  is  appUed 
to  the  Mercy  Seat.  It  is  a  Propitiation  because 
there  the  claims  are  satisfied  which  prevented 
mercy,  and  now  favor  can  be  shown,  as  to  an  in- 
nocent person. 

(6)  Atonement.  The  result  of  the  offering  is  that 
the  sinner  and  God  are  now  at  one.  God  is  recon- 
ciled and  the  sinner  is  accepted. 

These  are  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  sacrifice, 
and  these  are  the  principles  of  the  redemption  of 
Christ.  These  principles  are  all  appHed  to  Christ's 
sacrifice  in  the  New  Testament  both  by  Christ  and 
His  apostles.  What  Christ  is  to  us,  and  what  the 
meaning  of  His  cross  is  to  us,  these  sacrifices  were  to 
the  Israelite.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  each  offerer 
knew  the  spiritual  meaning.  Some  did,  but  the  fact 
of  their  not  knowing  does  not  detract  from  the  impor- 
tance of  the  intended  lessons. 

5.  The  trespass-offering.  This  was  offered  as 
needed.  It  represents  Christ  in  daily  intercession; 
as  our  constant  advocate  (i  John  2:1;  Rom.  8  :  34). 

The  first  three  of  these  offerings  are  called  **  sweet 
savor  "  offerings,  the  last  two  are  not.  That  is  in  the 
first  three  Christ  is  personally  in  contact  with  God, 
but  in  the  last  two,  the  sin  and  trespass  offerings,  He 
touches  sin  and  therefore  He  bears  our  guilt.  There 
is  no  sweet  savor  in  sin  or  anything  that  it  touches. 
Here  Christ  is  made  sin  for  us ;  He  bears  our  blame 
and  disgrace. 


The  Ceremonial  Law  215 

The  sum  of  the  offerings  is  Christ.  Together  they 
present  His  perfect  work  for  us.  We  can  understand 
how  one  Hke  David  in  that  day  could  meditate  upon 
the  law  day  and  night,  having  glimpses  of  this  Com- 
ing One  revealed  to  him  in  it. 

We  must  now  read  the  offerings  from  the  outside 
inward.  We  must  see  our  path  along  them  to  God. 
We  begin  at  the  outermost.  We  first  in  conviction 
think  of  our  trespasses ;  we  therefore  want  Christ  as 
our  forgiveness.  We  next  think  of  Sin  as  something 
deeper  than  mere  acts,  and  realize  our  need  of  cleans- 
ing ;  we  want  ourselves  made  right  as  well  as  our  sins 
forgiven.  This  leads  us  to  Christ  as  our  sin-offering. 
Then  we  have  fellowship  with  God  through  Christ. 
This  is  Christ  in  the  peace-offering  (Rom.  5  :  i). 
Then  we  may  enter  His  service  and  we  may  eat  of 
Him  as  in  the  meal-offering.  The  consecration  of  the 
burnt-offering  is  the  greatest.  Few  reach  it  at  once. 
It  is  the  place  where  in  Christ  we  give  ourselves 
wholly  to  God  (Rom.  12  :  i). 

There  are  several  grades  of  offerings.  The  ox  was 
the  princely  offering,  the  sheep  or  goat  the  common 
offering,  the  dove  or  young  pigeon  the  poor  man's 
offering,  and  the  barley  cake  that  of  the  very  poor. 
These  represent  different  degrees  of  apprehension  of 
Christ.  Some  see  in  Christ  all  His  offices,  like  the 
prince,  they  see  His  kingly  rule  and  power ;  others 
take  the  more  common  evangelical  view  of  Christ  as 
Redeemer ;  others  have  only  a  faint  idea  of  the  work 
of  Christ,  but  have  true  faith ;  others  still  only  know 


'ii6  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

that  Christ  is  able  to  save,  though  how  or  why  they 
know  not,  but  have  faith,  nevertheless. 

3.     The  Priests. 

The  persons  set  apart  to  carry  out  this  law  form  an 
important  part  of  study.  The  whole  tribe  of  Levi 
was  chosen  of  God  for  the  service  of  the  Tabernacle 
and  from  among  them  the  family  of  Aaron  to  serve  as 
priests.  The  Levites  had  charge  of  the  Tabernacle. 
They  had  no  one  place  of  abode  in  Israel,  but  had 
houses  in  the  various  tribes.  This  fulfilled  the 
prophecy  of  their  father  Jacob,  "  I  will  scatter  them  in 
Israel,"  but  turned  the  curse  into  a  blessing  (Gen. 
49  :  7).  They  had  charge  of  the  Tabernacle,  the 
service  of  song  and  other  parts  of  the  worship. 

The  priesthood  was  to  remain  in  the  family  of 
Aaron.  Formerly  the  eldest  or  father  of  the  family 
offered  sacrifices,  and  the  word  priest  has  the  meaning 
of  presbyter  or  elder.  The  priests  were  to  offer  sacri- 
fices and  conduct  the  services  on  the  days  of  special 
holiness  and  on  feast  days;  and,  in  the  journey 
through  the  wilderness,  were  to  carry  the  ark  and 
vessels  of  the  Tabernacle.  They  also  acted  as  a  court 
to  decide  special  cases  (Deut.  17  :  8-13).  They  were 
supported  by  tithes;  and  served  in  courses.  The 
great  service  of  the  year  was  on  the  day  of  atonement, 
when  the  high  priest  entered  the  Holy  of  Holies  and 
made  intercession  for  the  nation. 

In  Hebrews  Aaron,  the  high  priest,  is  compared  and 
contrasted  with  Christ.     The  High  Priest  was  a  type  of 


The  Ceremonial  Law  217 

Christ  in  being  appointed  of  God,  in  offering  a  sacrifice, 
in  entering  the  presence  of  God,  and  in  securing  atone- 
ment. Christ  was  unhke  Aaron  in  that  He  was  not  of  his 
tribe  or  family ;  that  He  administered  a  better  covenant ; 
that  He  did  not  offer  the  blood  of  an  animal,  but  His 
own ;  that  He  did  not  enter  an  earthly  tabernacle,  but  a 
heavenly  one ;  that  He  did  not  make  an  imperfect  atone- 
ment, but  a  perfect  one ;  and  that  His  atonement  was 
not  temporary  in  its  effect,  but  permanent  (Heb.  5-10). 

Because  of  these  incomplete  resemblances,  and  be- 
cause Aaron  was  an  Israelitish  priest  only  and  Christ 
had  a  world-wide  work  of  atonement  to  perform, 
another  type  is  added  to  His  priesthood.  Melchis- 
edek  is  chosen  as  this  type.  He  was  long  before  Aaron 
or  the  law,  and  had  no  predecessors  or  successors,  was 
from  the  world  peoples  and  was  a  King  as  well  as  a 
priest.  These  are  some  of  the  qualities  to  be  seen  in 
Christ's  priesthood  that  are  wanting  in  Aaron's. 

Aaron,  however,  represents  the  believer.  He  is 
<<a  spiritual  house,  a  royal  priesthood,  to  offer  up 
spiritual  sacrifices  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ."  As  Israel  was  a  national  priest  among  the 
nations  to  serve  God,  to  administer  the  worship  of 
God,  and  to  teach  the  nations ;  so  the  believer  is  in  the 
world,  so  the  Church  is  in  the  world.  The  believer  is 
called  the  Temple,  the  Sanctuary;  the  believer's 
body  being  a  Holy  of  Holies  in  which  God  dwells  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  as  in  the  Tabernacle  the  presence  of 
God  dwelt  (i  Cor.  6:19;  2  Cor.  6:  16;  i  Cor. 
3  :  16,  17  ;  Eph.  2  ;  20-22). 


2i8  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

4.  The  Laws  of  Holiness. 
These  are  laws  which  are  distinguished  from  the 
moral  laws  because  they  commanded  or  forbade  things 
not  in  themselves  ethical,  as  for  example  the  absti- 
nence from  certain  kinds  of  food,  the  wearing  of  cer- 
tain kinds  of  clothing,  and  the  following  of  certain 
ways  of  cutting  the  hair.  Some  of  these  laws  have 
no  reasons  for  them  stated ;  but  all  had  reasons,  and 
important  ones  for  their  enactment. 

1.  Some  of  these  laws  were  sanitary  and  hygienic 
in  effect ;  as  the  law  regarding  washing  after  touching 
a  dead  body,  the  law  of  the  cleansing  of  the  leper, 
the  laws  respecting  the  use  of  certain  kinds  of  food 
and  the  disposal  of  offal. 

2.  Some  had  great  symbolic  teachings.  God 
taught  the  people  spiritual  holiness  by  laws  of  phys- 
ical cleanliness,  sis  we  would  teach  children  by  the  use 
of  the  same  illustrations.  The  leper  was  a  type  of 
the  sinner.  Leprosy  was  treated  like  a  sin.  There 
were  ceremonies  connected  with  it  of  no  hygienic 
use,  but  purely  s)niibolic  (Lev.  14,  15).  These  held 
up  this  disease  as  a  type  of  sin  in  its  inheritance,  its 
effects,  and  its  incurableness  by  any  human  effort. 
This  the  psalmist  had  in  mind  when,  referring  to  this, 
he  says,  "  Purge  me  with  hyssop  and  I  shall  be  clean  " 

(Ps.  51:7). 

3.  Separation  was  one  great  purpose  of  these  laws. 
Most  of  the  things  forbidden  were  customs  of  the 
heathen  and  the  use  of  these  things  would  lead  the 
Israelites  into  fellowship  with   them.      Their   disuse 


The  Ceremonial  Law  219 

would  erect  a  barrier  between  the  two.  Therefore 
these  laws  were  made.  Such  laws  were  those  forbid- 
ding the  marking  of  the  body  by  heathen  rites,  or  the 
placing  of  names  of  heathen  deities  upon  one.  In- 
stead they  were  to  place  the  law  upon  their  foreheads. 
Such  laws  also  were  those  regarding  the  cutting  of  the 
hair  and  the  sowing  of  mingled  seeds. 

4.  Some  were  laws  of  propriety,  as  those  forbid- 
ding a  man  to  wear  a  woman's  clothing  or  a  woman, 
the  clothes  of  a  man. 

All  these  laws  were  based  on  the  fact  that  they  were 
Jehovah's  chosen  people,  sacred  and  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  world. 

There  is,  however,  in  these  a  great  spiritual  lesson. 
The  Christian  is  still  under  such  laws.  There  are 
certain  things  that  he  is  not  to  touch  and  certain  peo- 
ple that  he  is  not  to  mingle  with  (2  Cor.  6  :  17). 
There  are  things  he  is  not  to  eat  or  drink  (Rom. 
14:  1-23).  His  abstinence  is  for  the  sake  of  others. 
"It  is  good  not  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  to 
do  anythmg  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth  "  (Rom. 
14:  21).  This  is  the  Biblical  ground  of  temperance. 
A  further  reason  for  temperance  is  this,  <*  Ye  cannot 
drink  the  cup  of  the  Lord  and  the  cup  of  devils" 
(i  Cor.  10  :  21).  This  latter  certainly  applies  to  in- 
toxicating drinks  in  our  days.  A  further  motive  is 
offered  in  this  text,  "Give  no  occasion  of  stumbling 
either  to  Jews  or  to  Greeks  or  to  the  Church  of  God  " 
(i  Cor.  10  :  32).  A  further  and  broader  principle  is 
given  in  these  words,  "  Whether  therefore  ye  eat  or 


220  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

drink  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of 
God"  (i  Cor.  lo:  31).  All  these  look  outside  of 
the  person  himself.  There  is  also  regard  for  oneself 
to  be  considered.  *'Your  body  is  a  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost"  (i  Cor.  6:  12-20).  Here  is  the  same 
principle  that  was  given  to  Israel,  the  sanctity  of 
themselves  as  God's  chosen  people. 

We  find,  then,  that  the  same  principles  underlie  the 
Israelitish  code  and  the  Christian  code.  The  differ- 
ence being  that  the  one  consists  of  a  long  list  of  cer- 
tain acts  prohibited,  and  the  other  is  an  enumeration 
of  certain  principles  applying  to  all  acts.  Now,  as  the 
conditions  have  changed  since  Israel's  time,  as  in  the 
case  of  food  offered  to  idols  and  in  the  coming  in  of 
many  habits  and  amusements  unknown  to  Israel,  we 
see  why  God  has  given  us  principles  rather  than  rules 
for  life.  The  principles  live  in  the  heart  and  are  a 
permanent  motive ;  the  prohibition  of  acts  can  be  only 
temporary  and  local. 

These  are  the  great  differences  between  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New  Testament  teachings.  We  have 
no  prescribed  list  of  acts  right  and  wrong,  but  we  have 
certain  principles  which  enable  one  with  a  right  mind 
and  the  spirit  of  Christ  to  determine  for  himself  what 
is  right  and  what  wrong.  The  Church  has  the  right 
to  say  what  its  members  shall  or  shall  not  do ;  so  we 
find  the  Council  at  Jerusalem  prescribing  to  the  young 
gentile  Churches  what  they  were  to  avoid  (Acts 
15 :  19,  20). 


The  Ceremonial  Law  221 

5.     The  Feasts. 

The  calendar  of  the  Israelite  was  laid  out  on  the 
number  seven;  thus  we  have  the  seventh  day,  the 
seventh  month,  the  seventh  year  and  the  seventh 
seventh  or  fiftieth  year — the  year  of  jubilee.  Every 
year  there  were  three  great  festivals  and  one  great  fast 
day ;  seven  festivals  and  one  fast  in  all.  Nothing  could 
better  express  the  happy  purpose  of  Jehovah  in  this  peo- 
ple than  this  fact.  The  whole  course  of  the  year  was 
designed  to  be  a  course  of  sacred  joy ;  their  religion 
was  to  be  a  happy  one  and  their  pleasures  sacred. 

I .  The  germ  of  all  was  the  Sabbath.  This  was  a 
reenactment  of  the  existing  Sabbath  (Ex.  16:  26). 
The  word  "  remember  "  in  the  Fourth  Commandment 
recites  this  fact.  The  Sabbath  was  observed  before 
the  time  of  Moses  and  by  other  nations.  It  was  in- 
stituted at  creation  (Gen.  2  :  2,  3).  The  reasons  an- 
nexed to  the  various  commands  about  the  Sabbath  are 
that  the  people  may  rest,  with  their  servants  and  cat- 
tle and  strangers  after  the  example  of  God  (Ex.  20  : 
8-1 1);  that  they  may  remember  their  deliverance 
from  Egypt  (Deut.  5  :  15) ;  and  that  it  may  be  a  sign 
between  them  and  Jehovah  (Ex.  31  :  13),  a  perpetual 
covenant  (16),  a  holy  convocation  (Lev.  23:  3). 
Thus  the  idea  of  the  Sabbath  is  first  rest,  then  com- 
memoration, then  consecration  and  worship. 

These  are  the  ideas  of  the  Lord's  Day  that  we  ob- 
serve. While  there  is  no  command  to  change  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week  there  is  scripture  warrant.  First 
the  Sabbath  was  a  shadow  and  the  substance  has 


2  22  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

come  in  Christ  (Col.  2:  16,  17).  The  command  is 
observed  by  keeping  one  day  in  seven.  It  is  "six 
days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work,  but  the 
seventh  is  the  Sabbath."  Six  days'  work  and  then  a 
day  of  rest.     This  the  Lord's  Day  gives. 

There  is  a  pointing  to  the  Lord's  Day  in  the  men- 
tion of  the  eighth  day  (Lev.  23  :  39),  especially  the 
offering  of  the  first-fruits  on  *<  the  morrow  after  the 
Sabbath,"  which  was  the  prophecy  of  the  resurrection 
of  Christ  as  "the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept" 
(i  Cor.  15  :  20).  The  example  of  Christ,  in  meeting 
with  His  disciples,  their  custom  to  meet  for  break- 
ing bread,  that  is  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  state  of 
John  in  Patmos,  "in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day," 
warrant  us  in  keeping  this  day  and  dropping  the  Jew- 
ish Sabbath,  which  in  spirit  is  kept  on  the  Lord's 
Day. 

If  one  day  in  the  week  is  to  be  kept  sacred  it  must 
be  a  uniform  custom,  else  there  cannot  be  that  use  of 
it  that  we  need.  Confusion  would  come  from  every 
one  having  his  own  day.  Luther  said,  "  I  believe  that 
the  apostles  transferred  the  Sabbath  to  Sunday, 
otherwise  no  man  would  have  been  so  audacious  as 
to  dare  do  it."  Another  has  said,  "Take  away  the 
day  of  rest  and  there  is  no  worship ;  no  worship,  no 
religion ;  no  religion,  no  morals ;  no  morals,  then — 
pandemonium."  Such  a  day  of  rest  was  embodied 
in  the  moral  and  not  in  the  ceremonial  law  to  give  it 
the  greater  validity. 

2.     The  new  moon  or  the  first  day  of  each  month 


The  Ceremonial  Law  223 

was  a  sacred  day.  It  was  celebrated  by  the  blowing 
of  trumpets,  the  offering  of  sacrifices,  and  the 
solemnities  of  the  Sabbath.  In  the  seventh  month  its 
observance  was  especially  marked. 

3.     The   three  great  annual  feasts  were  the  Pass- 
over celebrated  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  Pente- 
cost coming  when  the  wheat  harvest  was  ripe,  and  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles  held  in  the  fall ;  the  latter  was 
the  harvest  home  of  Israel,  when  they  dwelt  in  booths 
for  a  week.     The  Passover  has  already  been  spoken 
of.     It  commemorated  the  nation's  deliverance.     It 
was  its   national   anniversary.      Pentecost,    meaning 
** fiftieth,"  was  held  fifty  days  from  the  gathering  of 
the  first  ripe  sheaf,  the  **  first-fruits."      Two  leavened 
loaves   were   presented   to   the   Lord.      This  was   a 
prophetic  feast.      It  was  fifty  days  after  Christ  rose 
from  the  dead,   ''the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept," 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  the  disciples.     The 
two   loaves   were   typical   of  the  Jewish  and  gentile 
churches.     The   feast   of  ingathering  or  Tabernacles 
was  preceded  by  the  Day  of  Atonement,  by  which 
they  were  prepared  for  that  joyous  time.     It  has  a 
prophetic  meaning  also  in  the  harvest  to  come  and  the 
millennial  era  to  follow  (Rev.  14:  14-20). 

The  Seventh  Year  feast  was  the  leaving  of  the 
fields  fallow  and  only  gathering  what  grew  of  itself. 
It  was  the  violation  of  this  that  fixed  the  time  of  the 
Babylonian  captivity  at  seventy  years  (2  Chron. 
36 :  21). 

The  Jubilee  was  the  climax  of  all  the  festivals  and 


224 


The  Bible  As  It  Is 


of  all  the  nation's  calendar.  Then  servants  were 
freed,  all  debts  paid,  all  homesteads  returned,  all  at 
rest.  When  Christ  preached  His  first  sermon  He 
took  for  His  text  the  prophetic  cry  of  the  jubilee  year, 
the  climax  of  Israel's  great  system  (Luke  4 :  18). 
He  proclaimed  spiritually  all  that  the  jubilee  gave 
literally.  It  was  probably  on  the  very  anniversary  of 
the  jubilee  that  this  sermon  was  preached.  The  four 
things  given  by  the  jubilee  were  alliteratively :  liberty, 
land,  liquidation  and  leisure.  Prison  doors  were 
opened ;  homesteads  restored ;  debts  canceled  ;  rest 
given.  So  in  Christ  we  have  release  from  the  penalty 
of  sin,  restoration  to  the  place  of  our  inheritance,  for- 
giveness of  sins,  and  rest  in  Christ.  As  all  of  Israel's 
history,  this  is  also  an  allegory  worked  out  in  the  actual 
history  of  a  soul's  experience.  It  has  been  jubilee 
time  ever  since  Christ  preached  that  great  sermon. 

Spiritual  Lessons  from  the  Law. 
The  New  Testament  lessons  from  the  study  of  the 
law  are  as  follows  : 

1.  All  are  guilty  before  this  law.  The  parts  of 
the  law  are  one.  The  New  Testament  does  not 
make  a  distinction  between  the  moral  and  ceremonial 
law.  It  is  one  law,  and  when  it  refers  to  the  law  it 
means  all  the  law  (Jas.  2  :  10 ;  Rom.  2  :  19,  20). 

2.  Christ  taught  that  the  law  prophesied  of  Him, 
and  that  He  fulfilled  these  prophecies  and  types 
(Matt.  5  :  17;  Luke  24:  27,  44).  "That  it  might 
be  fulfilled  "  is  written  as  a  reason  for  much  that  He 


The  Ceremonial  Law  225 

did  and  said.  He  obeyed  its  precepts  and  lived  the 
life  that  it  commanded  (Matt.  3:15).  Its  righteous- 
ness was  fulfilled  in  Him  in  its  spiritual  and  ethical 
meaning  (John.  8 :  46).  He  fulfilled  its  ceremonial 
acts  (Luke  2  :  21-24).  He  is  the  fulfilment  of  its  civil 
and  social  state  spiritually. 

3.  The  aposdes  taught  Christ  from  the  law  (John 
1 :  45) ;  see  Epistle  to  Hebrews.  They  taught  the 
insufficiency  of  the  law  in  itself,  i.  To  give  for- 
giveness (Acts  13:38).  2.  To  justify  (Rom  3  :  20 ; 
Gal.  2:16).  3.  To  give  holiness  or  peace  (Rom. 
8  :  3).  4.  It  is  not  a  rule  of  life  to  the  believer  "in 
Christ"  (Acts  15:1,  28,  29;  Rom.  6:  14;  7:4; 
Gal.  3  :   23-26  ;  Col.  2  :  14-23). 

4.  Christ  satisfied  the  demands  of  the  law  against 
us  (Gal.  3:  13),,  and  put  it  out  of  the  way  (Col. 
2 :  14  ;  John  i  :  17).  This  does  not  degrade  the  law 
(Rom.  3:31);  nor  lead  to  sin  (Rom.  6 :  i,  15). 

5.  The  Christian  is  in  a  higher  state  of  grace 
(Gal.  3:23-29;  4;  5:  1-6),  and  thus  under  a 
higher  law;  he  is  a  son  and  not  a  servant;  under 
grace  and  not  under  law. 

6.  The  present  use  of  the  law  is  to  manifest  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  Christ  (Rom.  3:21);  to 
make  sin  apparent  (Rom.  5  :  20) ;  to  restrain  trans- 
gression (Gal.  3 :  19 ;  i  Tim.  i  :  9-1 1)  ;  to  convict  of 
sin  (Rom.  7  :  7,  8)  ;  to  judge  the  sinner  at  the  last 
day  (Rom.  2:12;  John  5  :  45  ;  Rev.  20 :  12). 

7.  The  offerings,  as  we  have  seen,  all  point  to 
Christ. 


226  The  Bibk  As  It  Is 

8.  The  laws  of  holiness  are  typical  of  the  Christian 
life. 

9.  The  feasts  are  to  have  their  fulfilment  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  They  all  point  to  that  (Luke 
4:  17-19;  Ps.  72;  Ezek.  40-48). 


CHAPTER   XIV 

JOSHUA  AND  THE  CONQUEST 

With  Joshua  we  take  up  the  story  of  the  Chosen 
People  taking  possession  of  the  Land  covenanted  by 
Jehovah  to  their  ancestors  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob 
and  to  themselves.  To  this  they  had  looked  forward 
for  four  centuries.  It  had  cheered  them  in  their  toil 
in  the  brickyards  of  Egypt  and  been  their  goal  all 
through  their  march  in  the  wilderness.  This  great 
end  they  had  failed  of  securing  at  Kadesh-Barnea  by 
their  unbelief  and  disobedience  and  now  once  more 
they  are  at  the  gate  of  their  long  desired  home.  But 
great  enemies  possess  it  and  it  must  be  fought  for. 
The  contest  forms  the  subject  now  before  us. 

The  book  of  Joshua  has  four  divisions. 

I.  Preparation  for  the  War.     Chs.  1-5. 

Charge  to  Joshua,  i.  The  Spies,  2.  Directions 
for  Crossing  Jordan,  3.  The  Crossing,  4. 
Circumcision  of  the  People  and  the  Vision,  5. 

II.  The  War  of  Conquest.  6-12. 

Capture  of  Jericho,  6.  Sin  of  Achan,  7.  Battle 
of  Ai.  The  Blessings  and  Cursings,  8.  The 
Gibeonites,  9.  Battle  of  Gibeon  and  Conqest 
of  the  South,  10.  Battle  of  Merom  and  Con- 
qest of  the  North,  11.  List  of  Conquests,  12. 
227 


228  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

III.  Division  of  the  Land,  13-22 

The  Two  and  Half  Tribes,  13.  Caleb's  Choice, 
14.  Judah's  Portion,  15.  Manasseh  and  Eph- 
raim's  Portion,  16-17.  Remaining  Tribes,  18- 
19.  Cities  of  Refuge,  20.  Levite  Cities,  21. 
Departure  of  Trans- Jordanic  Tribes,  22. 

IV.  Joshua's  Farewell,  23-24. 

To  The  Elders,  etc.,  23.  To  Israel.  Writes  his 
Records.     Death  and  Burial,  24. 

Besides  the  general  outline  there  are  special  points 
for  study,  preliminary  to  the  history.  The  state  of 
the  nation  and  also  of  the  land  and  its  inhabitants 
are  to  be  considered. 

I.    The  Nation. 

They  were  a  race  young  and  trained  by  the  wilder- 
ness journey.  All  over  twenty  years  of  age  had  fal- 
len in  the  wilderness  as  foretold  by  Jehovah  as  the 
penalty  of  their  disobedience  at  the  first  offer  of  the 
land  at  Kadesh.  They  had  been  fused  into  a  nation 
by  their  isolation,  the  wilderness  life,  and  the  teach- 
ing of  Moses.  They  were  far  in  advance  of  the 
fugitive  host  that  fled  from  Egypt.  Several  great  vic- 
tories had  given  them  confidence  in  themselves  and 
their  leader  and  their  Jehovah.  They  must  not  be 
considered,  however,  as  a  modern  disciplined  army 
but  as  an  aggregation  of  pastoral  tribes. 


Joshua  and   the  Conquest         229 

2.    The  Leader. 

The  conquest  of  the  regions  east  of  the  Jordan  was 
made  under  Moses.  Sixty  cities  there  fell  into  ttie 
possession  of  Israel.  These  regions  were  allotted  to 
the  two  and  half  tribes  of  Reuben,  Gad  and  Manasseh 
who  were  sworn  to  send  their  armed  men  with  Israel 
to  the  conquest  of  the  rest  of  the  territory.  The  leader 
appointed  for  this  task  was  Joshua.  He  with  Caleb 
were  the  two  faithful  ones  over  the  age  of  twenty  who 
were  premitted  to  survive  and  enter  Canaan.  He  was 
Moses'  personal  attendant  and  trained  under  his  own 
care.  He  was  appointed  by  Jehovah  and  given  the 
special  charge,  *'Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage," 
several  times  repeated.  He  was  also  given  a  Vision 
of  Jehovah  as  Captain  leading  the  army.  He  was 
promised  complete  success  and  victory.  Judah  the 
Messianic  tribe  was  to  go  first. 

3.    The  Land. 

Canaan  was  well  known  to  Israel.  It  was  not  far 
from  their  residence  in  Egypt.  It  was  the  home  of 
their  progenitors.  It  was  connected  with  Egypt  by 
many  ties.  Egyptians  owned  estates  there  and  there 
was  constant  intercourse  by  travel  and  correspond- 
ence. Indeed  some  Israelites  made  raids  into  the 
land  while  in  Egypt  (i  Chron.  7:21).  The  inhabit- 
ants of  Canaan  were  divided  into  several  tribes  fre- 
quently at  war  with  each  other  and  at  this  time  with- 
out the  control  and  aid  of  the  powerful  kingdoms  of 


230  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

Egypt  on  the  one  hand  and  AssjTia  on  the  other  to 
whom  at  prior  times  they  were  held  in  subjection. 
This  made  the  task  of  conquest  easier  than  if  Israel 
had  the  great  Assyrian  or  Egyptian  powers  to  deal  with. 
However  they  had  no  small  task  before  them.  The 
number  of  the  Canaanites  were  great.  They  had 
walled  cities.  Some  were  tribes  of  gigantic  stature. 
They  had  chariots  of  iron  and  suits  of  armor.  When 
united  as  at  the  close  of  the  campaign  they  presented 
a  force  of  vast  numbers  and  formidable  armament. 
They  were  however  at  this  time  in  a  state  of  terror. 
The  news  of  the  strange  people  and  their  deliverance 
had  preceded  them.  The  plagues  of  Egypt  God  had 
said  were  ordered  that  his  name  and  glory  might  be 
declared  through  the  earth  and  all  lands  had  heard  of 
them.  The  wilderness  journey,  the  pillar  of  cloud, 
the  wonders  of  Mt.  Sinai,  all  had  been  heard  of  and 
now  like  an  impending  judgment  the  host  of  Israel 
was  at  their  doors. 

4.    The  Crossing  of  the  Jordan. 

The  conquest  of  the  trans- Jordan  regions  brought 
them  to  the  banks  of  that  river  at  that  time  at  full 
flood.  It  was  and  is  a  tortuous  stream  that  flowed 
through  a  gorge  of  600  feet  and  twisted  through  200 
miles  of  channel  to  make  60  miles  of  progress.  To 
cross  this  with  their  herds  of  cattle  in  face  of  an  armed 
foe  was  a  hazardous  task.  That  it  seemed  impossible 
to  the  nations  of  Canaan  appears  from  the  fact  that 


Joshua  and  the  Conquest  231 

no  steps  of  defence  or  opposition  were  taken.  To 
Israel  Jordan  was  their  Rubicon.  It  put  an  impassable 
barrier  between  them  and  retreat. 

Practical  preparations  were  at  once  begun  by  Joshua. 
Spies  were  sent  out  to  see  the  lay  of  the  land  and  the 
state  of  the  enemy.  The  adventures  of  these  give 
us  the  well  known  story  of  Rahab.  After  their 
departure  an  order  is  issued  for  a  three  days'  provision 
of  victuals  for  within  that  time  they  were  to  cross  the 
Jordan.  They  were  to  "sanctify  themselves,"'  that  is, 
to  put  away  all  ceremonial  and  other  uncleanness. 
The  order  of  march  was  arranged.  The  ark  borne  by 
the  priests  went  first  and  as  they  touched  Jordan  its 
waters  passed  away  and  the  passage  was  left  dry.  The 
priests  with  the  ark  stood  in  the  bed  of  the  river  and 
the  people  passed  over  before  them,  the  armed  men 
first.  A  memorial  of  twelve  stones  taken  from  the 
river  bed  where  the  priests  stood  with  the  ark  was  made 
to  testify  in  days  to  come  w^hen  any  disputed  the  truth 
of  the  event.  It  has  been  needed  for  the  account  is 
one  disputed  to-day.  It  was,  as  are  most  such  ac- 
counts, a  union  of  the  natural  and  supernatural,  or 
rather  a  directing  of  natural  causes  to  certain  effects 
at  certain  times.  The  river  was  undoubtedly  gorged 
at  some  point  above  the  crossing  and  in  consequence 
ran  dry.  The  point  was  a  suitable  one.  The  river 
is  narrow  and  its  banks  steep.  Any  case  which  would 
stop  its  waters  would  fill  all  the  requirements  of  the 
narrative.     The  bed  of  the  Jordan  shows  that  it  has 


232  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

changed  its  level  several  times.  It  was  once  thirty 
feet  higher  than  at  present.  Dr.  George  Frederick 
Wright  has  found  geologic  evidence  of  the  elevation 
of  the  bed  of  the  river  a  mile  or  two  from  the  crossing 
and  the  return  again  to  its  present  level.  Such  a  tem- 
porary elevation  would  have  caused  the  dry  crossing 
described  in  the  account. 


5.    The  War  of  Conquest, 
chapters  5-12. 

The  whole  war  may  be  divided  into  three  cam- 
paigns; the  conquest  of  the  trans- Jordan  region  called 
Gilead  already  mentioned  made  under  Moses,  and 
the  subjugation  of  the  land  of  Canaan  proper  in  two 
campaigns  of  the  north  and  the  south.  The  perma- 
nent camp  was  fixed  at  Gilgal  where  they  crossed  the 
Jordan.  Here  they  left  their  families  and  flocks  and 
from  this  went  out  to  the  battles  of  the  conquest. 
Here  also  a  preparatory  observance  of  the  Passover 
was  held  and  Circumcision  performed  which  had  been 
neglected  during  the  wilderness  journey. 

The  two  campaigns  of  Canaan  proper  may  be 
arranged  around  the  four  great  battles  that  are 
described;  three  battles  in  the  conquest  of  south 
Canaan,  the  battle  of  Jericho,  6-7,  the  battle  of  Ai, 
8-9,  and  the  battle  of  Gibeon,  10.  The  conquest  of 
north  Canaan  was  accomplished  in  one  great  battle 


Joshua  and  the  Conquest  233 

with  the  confederated  nations  of  Canaan,  the  battle  of 
Merom,  11.  The  capture  of  Jericho  is  well  known. 
The  fall  of  its  walls  on  the  seventh  encircling  by  the 
army  was  a  miracle.  Such  events  need  no  explana- 
tion to  a  believer  in  God  and  the  supernatural.  Nor 
may  we  say  how  much  the  natural  enters  into  such 
events  until  we  better  understand  the  mysterious 
forces  of  nature.  The  trotting  of  a  dog  will  cause  a 
great  iron  bridge  to  shake.  The  vibrations  caused 
by  a  violin  we  are  told  would  if  continued  cause  the 
tallest  tower  to  move.  It  is  senseless  and  unscien- 
tific to  object  to  miracles  simply  because  they  lie  out- 
side of  our  limited  field  of  observation.  For  similar 
reasons  the  African  savage  mJght  decline  to  believe 
in  freezing  of  water  or  the  telephone. 

The  fall  of  Jericho  struck  terror  into  the  Canaanites 
and  gave  Israel  the  key  to  the  land.  The  battle  at 
Ai  was  a  wholesale  check  in  its  temporary  defeat  to 
Israel  tempted  to  presumption  and  to  follow  the  sin 
of  Achan.  Israel  had  also  to  be  taught  to  use  their 
own  skill  and  not  to  depend  infant  fashion  on  super- 
natural resources.  The  battle  of  Gibeon  was  caused 
by  the  city  of  Gibeon  who  got  a  treaty  from  Joshua 
by  stratagem  and  were  made  tributaries.  They  were 
attacked  by  the  king  of  Jerusalem  and  confederate 
tribes  for  this.  Their  call  was  the  occasion  of  Joshua 
attacking  the  enemy  and,  assisted  by  a  fearful  hail- 
storm which  destroyed  more  than  the  sword,  he  won 
a  mighty  victory.   It  was  in  this  battle  occurred  the 


234  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

miracle  of  ''Joshua's  long  day"  so  called,  when  the 
sun  stayed  in  its  course.  This  was  not  impossible  to 
Him  who  made  the  sun  and  stars.  He  who  conducts 
the  universe  could  check  the  movements  of  the  world 
as  easily  as  an  engineer  can  control  the  movements  of 
his  train.  These  three  battles  gave  Israel  an  open 
door  to  the  land.  A  succession  of  invasions  brought 
the  whole  of  the  southern  part  of  Canaan  into  their 
power  and  possession. 

The  nations  of  the  northern  part  were  now  awak- 
ened to  their  danger  and  aroused  from  the  paralysis 
of  fear  that  at  first  seized  them.  The  result  was  a 
confederation  of  the  nations  of  the  north.  It  was  the 
supreme  effort  of  the  Canaanites  and  the  greatest 
battle  fought  by  Israel.  The  number  of  the  enemy 
is  described  as  the  "sand  of  the  sea,"  with  "chariots 
and  horses  very  many."  Israel  was  now  a  nation  of 
veteran  warriors.  They  were  inspired  by  continuous 
victory.  A  sudden  attack  gave  them  victory.  "The 
waters  of  Merom,"  became  a  subject  of  song  ever 
after.  There  came  into  the  Canaanites  a  hardness 
and  desperate  resistance  that  forbade  any  terms  of 
surrender.  The  terrific  nature  of  the  attack  and 
rout  is  seen,  as  well  as  the  truth  of  the  narrative,  in 
the  inscription  left  by  the  fugitives  who  fled  as  far  as 
Algiers  and  left  two  monuments  with  the  inscription 
"We  are  those  who  fled  from  Joshua  the  robber." 
(Giekie's  Hours  with  the  Bible.     2.409.) 


Joshua  and  the  Conquest  235 

6.    The  Destruction  of  the  Canaanites. 

The  fate  of  the  Canaanites  is  one  of  the  objections 
some  raise  to  the  Bible.  It  was  partial  extermination 
although  some  were  spared  and  remained  among  the 
Israelites  and  retained  their  possessions  and  even 
their  independence.  But  the  narration  tells  us  of 
whole  cities  all  of  whom  were  slain.  Such  was  war 
in  those  days  where  the  battle  resolved  itself  into  a 
series  of  personal  combats  in  which  one  and  sometimes 
both  of  the  antagonists  were  slain.  In  the  case  of  the 
Canaanites  the  destruction  of  these  peoples  was  by 
command  of  God.  This  seems  to  add  to  the  perplex- 
ity of  the  subject.  We  must  at  the  outset  of  the  whole 
study  of  religion  and  the  Bible  allow  that  God  has  the 
final  disposal  of  human  life  by  whatsoever  means  he 
chooses  to  select  whether  by  the  slow  coming  of  age 
or  the  more  rapid  progress  of  disease  or  the  swift 
destruction  by  the  plague  when  thousands  fall  in  a 
day.  Nor  may  we  ask  God  to  give  an  account  of 
His  doings.  He  is  sovereign.  He  is  also  just  and 
infinitely  merciful  and  we  must  in  faith  believe  that  the 
destruction  of  these  peoples  at  this  time  was  in  accord- 
ance both  with  justice  and  mercy.  The  revelations 
of  eternity  alone  will  explain  the  full  meaning  of  the 
whole  story  of  sin  and  sorrow  that  afiflicts  humanity 
which  God  in  his  wisdom  has  permitted.  But  some 
considerations  are  given  in  their  narrative  that  throw 
light  upon  this  acting  of  divine  judgment,  for  such  it 
was  as  truly  as  if  performed  by  storm  or  plague. 


236  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

1.  The  Canaanites  were  utterly  and  indescribably 
vile.  That  land  was  the  plague  spot  of  the  world. 
Sodom  was  a  t}^ical  city  and  its  sins  have  given  the 
name  to  unmentionable  crime  to-day.  Paul  describes 
such  whether  he  had  these  people  in  mind  or  similar 
races  everywhere  and  at  all  times.  (Rom.  1:18-32.) 
The  Bible  story  of  Lot  tells  the  everyday  life,  of  that 
city  and  the  race  generally.  (Gen.  19:  5-8).  Even 
1500  years  after  this  the  spread  of  their  vices  to 
Rome,  that  city  called  "the  sewer  of  the  nations," 
was  bewailed  by  the  writers  of  the  day  as  a  calamity. 

2.  They  had  also  the  most  exalted  religious  privi- 
leges. Melchisedek,  that  being  of  such  exalted  char- 
acter that  he  was  the  type  of  Christ,  was  their  king 
and  priest.  Abraham  and  his  descendents  while 
among  them  also  gave  example  of  a  purer  life. 

3.  They  were  given  ample  time  for  repentance. 
The  divine  reason  for  sending  Israel  into  Egypt  for 
four  centuries  was,  "the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is 
not  yet  full."  (Gen.  15:16.)  The  plagues  of  Egypt 
were  intended  to  arouse  these  as  well  as  all  nations. 
Israel's  year  at  Mt.  Sinai  was  a  year  of  possible  salva- 
tion and  repentance  to  these  doomed  people.  The 
added  thirty-nine  years  of  wandering  was  further 
time  and  the  halt  at  their  doors  while  Israel  waited 
at  the  Jordan  was  further  days  of  grace.  As  stated 
the  encircling  seven  times  of  the  walls  of  Jericho  was 
God's  call  by  the  trumpets  to  submission  and  mercy. 
The  one  that  yielded,  Rahab  the  harlot,  with  all  her 


Joshua  and  the  Conquest  237 

household  were  saved.  It  is  clear  that  any  others  who 
would  have  sued  for  mercy  could  have  had  it.  So 
also  the  Gibeonites  although  coming  by  subterfuge 
were  spared.  Not  another  nation  asked  for  terms 
of  mercy.  There  was  a  desperate  state  of  hardened 
resistance  that  made  destruction  inevitable. 

4.  The  welfare  of  Israel  as  the  hope  of  the  world,  the 
depository  of  divine  revelation  and  the  only  light  the 
world  had,  made  their  preservation  from  the  contam- 
ination of  these  peoples  absolutely  necessary.  To 
permit  them  to  live  in  this  physical  and  moral  state 
was  to  permit  contagion  of  the  most  ruinous  kind  to 
poison  the  fountain  of  mercy'at  its  source.  As  it  was, 
the  remnants  of  the  Canaanites  who  survived  were 
the  cause  of  Israel's  frequent  apostasy  and  the  cause 
of  their  final  overthrow  by  divine  judgments.  The 
world's  salvation  still  depends  on  the  purity  of  the 
church.  The  final  judgments  of  earth  will  be  sim- 
ply an  enlargement  of  these  judgments  on  impenitent 
and  hardened  mankind.  The  Seven  Trumpets  are 
found  in  the  Apocalypse  and  the  falling  cities  also. 

7.  The  Division  of  the  Land, 
chapters  13-22. 
The  boundaries  of  the  region  Israel  was  to  possess 
at  once  had  been  described  by  Moses  (Num.  34). 
This  was  not  the  full  territory  promised  to  Abraham 
and  later  conquered  by  David  but  was  suifficient  for 
their  present  needs.    God  had  said  he  would  not  dis- 


238  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

possess  the  entire  region  lest  the  beasts  of  the  field 
multiply  in  the  vacant  regions  and  become  a  menace 
as  they  are  in  such  regions.  (Ex.  23:29.)  Two 
tribes  Reuben  and  Gad  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh 
had  been  provided  for. 

Judah  of  the  remaining  tribes  received  its  portion 
next.  Its  home  seems  to  have  been  decided  by  the 
choice  of  Caleb  of  that  tribe,  the  sole  survivor  of  the 
Egyptian  multitude.  He  makes  special  request  for 
Hebron  and  is  given  that  for  his  portion.  The  region 
of  which  it  is  the  center  becomes  the  allotment  of 
Judah.  That  this  was  the  divine  purpose  is  seen 
from  the  facts  that  they  are  given  Jerusalem  and  are 
the  Messianic  tribe.  They  were  to  survive  to  the 
close  of  the  kingdom  and  Jerusalem  was  to  remain 
until  Christ  came,  and  so  they  are  placed  at  the  ex- 
treme south  far  away  from  the  enemies  by  whom  the 
overthrow  of  the  kingdom  finally  came.  Ephraim  and 
the  rest  of  his  brother  Manasseh's  tribe  not  accommo- 
dated on  the  east  of  Jordan  are  also  given  their  portion. 
The  Tabernacle  had  been  set  up  at  Shiloh  within  the 
limits  of  Ephraim's  portion  and  this  was  undoubtedly 
the  reason  that  Ephraim's  portion  was  early  settled. 
He  had  been  promised  superiority  and  Shiloh  had 
been  predicted  as  sacred  and  the  gathering  place  of 
the  tribes.  (Gen.  48:19;  49:10.)  Shechem  however 
a  few  miles  to  the  northwest  where  the  blessings  and 
cursings  were  pronounced  became  their  capital  city. 

Seven  tribes  remained  for  some  time  unalloted. 


Joshua  and  the   Conquest  239 

The  land  was  then  divided  into  seven  portions  and 
these  divided  by  lot.  The  Levites  were  given  no 
allotment  save  cities  for  residence.  This  was  a  pen- 
alty for  the  sin  of  Levi  (Gen.  49:11)  but  by  their 
appointment  to  the  service  of  the  Tabernacle  for  their 
fidelity  in  the  great  apostasy  in  the  wilderness  (Ex. 
32:26-28;  Num.  1:47-51),  the  curse  was  turned  into 
a  blessing.  The  cities  of  Refuge  were  allotted,  Mt. 
Ephraim  given  to  Joshua  as  his  choice  and  the  two 
and  half  trans- Jordan  tribes  dismissed  to  their  homes. 

8.    Joshua's  Farewell, 
chapters  23-24. 

All  that  God  had  commanded  Joshua  to  do  had 
been  accomplished.  He  had  led  Israel  into  the  land, 
conquered  their  enemies  and  allotted  the  land  to 
them.  He  had  called  them  to  the  appointed  place  at 
Mountains  Ebal  and  Gerizem  and  there  read  the  bless- 
ings and  curses  as  commanded  and  renewed  the  cove- 
nant. He  judged  Israel  during  the  rest  of  his  life 
and  as  his  end  approached,  solicitous  for  their  fidelity 
to  God,  called  them  together  to  the  same  place  for  his 
farewell  charge.  He  exacted  a  solemn  promise  of 
them  and  set  up  a  stone  of  memorial.  He  lived  to 
the  age  of  a  hundred  and  ten  and  was  buried  in  his 
chosen  portion. 

Spiritual  Lessons. 

I.  Canaan  has  sometimes  been  used  as  typical  of 
Heaven,  and  Jordan  of  death.    But  not  only  is  there 


240  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

no  such  application  in  Scriptures  but  much  against 
it.  Canaan  is  in  no  respect  analagous  to  Heaven. 
There  are  no  enemies  there  to  be  conquered  and  cer- 
tainly we  shall  not  have  to  expel  any  such.  Canaan 
is  a  type  of  the  ideal  Christian  life  and  is  so  used  in 
Hebrews  (Ch.  4).  There  it  is  a  type  of  Christ's  vic- 
torious work.  It  is  the  Land  of  Rest,  the  Land  of 
the  Promises  to  which  some  have  attained  and  all 
may  attain.  But  alas,  many  like  Israel  spend  their 
days  in  the  Wilderness  a  life  of  unrest,  of  legality  or 
like  Israel  of  sinfulness  and  idolatry,  God's  worship 
neglected  and  under  constant  afflictive  chastisements. 
For  such  to  reach  the  place  of  Consecration  and  Faith 
in  Christ  is  Canaan.  ''We  which  do  believe  do  enter 
into  rest"  (Heb.  4:3).  The  three  states  in  which 
Israel  are  seen  represent  respectively  three  states  of 
Christian  experience.  Egypt  is  the  believer  under 
sin ;  the  Wilderness,  the  believer  under  law ;  Canaan, 
the  believer  under  Grace.  The  privileges  of  the  be- 
liever are  represented  by  the  New  Testament  term  "In 
Christ"  where  all  spiritual  blessings  are  (Ep.  i :  4-14). 
2.  Joshua  is  a  type  of  Christ.  Jesus  and  Joshua  are 
the  same  name,  the  latter  Hebrew  the  other  Greek. 
The  Son  of  God  by  command  of  God  took  the  name, 
of  all  names  that  might  be  had  of  Israel's  leader,  be- 
because  the  work  of  Joshua  is  typical  of  the  work  of 
Christ.  Moses  represents  the  Law.  The  apostle 
Paul  tells  us  the  Law  made  nothing  perfect.  It  can- 
not forgive,  but  only  condemn.     It  cannot  therefore 


Joshua  and  the  Conquest  241 

save.  It  cannot  make  free  but  brings  into  bondage. 
It  cannot  bring  us  into  Rest  it  condemns  and  does  not 
save.  It  was  temporary  only  and  now  has  passed 
away  being  superseded  by  a  higher  law,  that  of  faith, 
of  grace  and  love.  (See  Rom.  3:20;  Gal.  2:16; 
Rom.  8:^;  Acts  13:39,  etc.)  Moses  therefore  as 
a  type  of  the  law  was  not  permitted  to  bring  Israel 
into  Canaan.  To  be  sure  he  was  excluded  for  his 
own  wrong  (Nu.  20:12),  but  God  always  has  further 
purposes  in  all  his  doings.  This  is  the  use  of  Joshua's 
work  in  Hebrews,  fourth  chapter. 

3.  The  allotment  of  the  land  to  the  several  tribes  and 
persons  represents  the  possible  range  of  attainment 
for  the  believer.  There  was  much  they  had  in  com- 
mon. The  state  of  rest,  the  food  of  Canaan,  the 
worship  and  much  else  represent  that  "grace  for 
grace"  of  Christ  of  which  each  believer  has  an  un- 
divided portion.  But  there  are  differences  "accord- 
ing to  the  measure  of  faith  given."  The  rule  of 
attainment  is  that  given  Israel  "Every  place  that  the 
sole  of  your  foot  shall  tread  upon,"  is  the  place  of 
conquest.  But  it  takes  the  whole  body  of  believers 
to  measure  "the  breadth  and  length  and  height  and 
depth"  of  the  possibilities  of  Christian  attainment. 
And  there  is  constant  conflict  also.  While  there  was 
conquest  there  were  Canaanites  left  as  we  shall  see  to 
test  and  keep  awake  Israel's  vigilance.  So  the  believer 
while  in  Christ  has  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil, 
to  watch  against. 


242  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

4.  The  sad  thought  is  suggested  that  there  are  many 
who  Hke  Israel  fail  at  their  Kadesh-Barnea  and  only 
after  a  wasted  life  like  that  of  Israel's  weary  wilder- 
ness journey  enter  the  state  of  rest  and  peace.  Some 
may  never  enter.  They  fall  in  the  wilderness.  While 
they  are  not  lost  yet  they  have  missed  the  Canaan 
experience  of  a  life  of  faith  and  peace. 


CHAPTER   XV 


THE   JUDGES 


Joshua  had  no  successor.  The  conquest  of  the 
allotted  portions  of  the  land  was  carried  on  by  the 
separate  tribes.  None  of  them  seem  to  have  quite 
subjugated  their  entire  territory.  Even  the  citadel 
in  Jerusalem  was  not  taken  until  the  time  of  David 
four  hundred  years  after.  There  was  lio  central 
government  during  this  period.  The  Judges  who 
were  in  power  during  this  period  were  temporary  mili- 
tary chieftains  raised  up  to  deliver  the  nation  from 
some  foreign  foe  and  retained  some  judical  authority 
during  their  lives.  The  state  of  affairs  is  well  described 
by  the  words  repeated  many  times  ''In  those  days 
there  was  no  king-  in  Israel  and  every  man  did  that 
which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes."  (17:6;  18:1;  19:1; 
21:25.) 

The  spiritual  state  brought  about  their  social  con- 
dition. The  book  of  Joshua  closes  with  the  statement 
that  they  served  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  the  elders 
that  outlived  Joshua.  Then  followed  apostasy.  They 
relaxed  their  military  vigilance,  came  to  terms  of  famil- 
iarity with  their  heathen  neighbors,  mingled  with 
them  in  their  sports  and  intermarried,  and  finally 
adopted  their  idolatry.  This  was  followed  by  chas- 
243 


244  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

tisement  mostly  by  foreign  invasion  and  oppression. 
Then  a  deliverer  was  raised  up  called  a  Judge  and 
the  land  had  rest  for  a  time.  After  this  another 
apostasy  followed  and  another  chastisement  and  an- 
other deliverance.  This  cycle  of  events  occurred  six 
times. 

The  social  and  spiritual  state  during  the  times  of 
apostasy  is  described  in  the  live  closing  chapters, 
which  are  out  of  place  and  describe  conditions  exist- 
ing at  the  beginning  and  perhaps  all  through  this 
period.  There  idolatry  is  seen  with  lawlessness  and 
internal  war  during  which  one  tribe,  Benjamin,  was 
almost  exterminated.  The  periods  when,  as  stated 
"the  land  had  rest,"  are  well  portrayed  by  the 
book  of  Ruth  which  belongs  early  in  the  time  of  the 
Judges.  The  place  of  worship  where  the  Tabernacle 
was  located  was  Shiloh.  Here  the  priests  were  to  be 
found  and  council  asked  of  God.  It  must  not  be 
supposed  that  the  whole  Mosaic  law  or  ritual  was 
observed  here  or  at  any  time  perfectly.  It  was  often 
for  long  periods  almost  wholly  neglected,  as  indeed 
the  commands  of  Christ  are  to-day. 

The  book  of  Judges  consists  of  three  parts:  (i)  An 
introductory  account  of  the  conquests  and  failures  of 
the  tribes  after  the  death  of  Joshua.  Ch.  1-2.  (2)  The 
apostasies  and  deliverances  by  the  Judges,  3-16.  (3) 
Two  narratives  of  the  conditions  of  the  times  of  the 
Judges,  17-21.  The  bulk  of  the  book  consists  of  the 
second  period,  the  history  of  the  apostasies  and  deliver- 


The  Judges 


245 


ances  each  designated  by  the  name  of  the  Judge  who 
delivered  them.  The  intervening  judges  are  of  less  im- 
portance and  may  be  either  omitted  for  further  study 
or  inserted  as  they  occur.  There  were  fourteen  in 
all.  The  Six  great  Judges  were  Othniel,  Ehud, 
Deborah,  Gideon,  Jephthah  and  Samson.  The  fol- 
lowing Table  presents  them  in  order.  The  first  two 
chapters  of  the  book  are  introductory  and  the  last 
five  chapters  refer  to  this  early  time  and  should  also 
be  read  here. 

CHART  OF  THE  JUDGES 


Chap. 

Judge 

Oppressor 

Period 

of 
R  est" 

Succeeding 
Judges 

3 

Othniel 

Mesopotamia  8  yrs. 

40  yrs. 

3 

Ehud 

Moab  18   yrs. 

80  yrs. 

Shamgar 

4-5 

Deborah 

Canaanites  20  yrs. 

40  yrs 
[Ruth] 

6-8 

Gideon  40  yrs 

Midianites  7  yrs. 

40  yrs. 

Abimelech  3, 
Tola  23,  Jair  22 

10-12 

Jephthah 

Philistines- Ammonites 

Ibzan  7,Elon  10, 

6  yrs. 

28  yrs. 

Abden  8,  Eli  40 

yrs. 

13-16 

Samson 
20  yrs. 

Philistines 
40  yrs. 

The  judges  were  not  regularly  successive.  There 
were  long  gaps  between  them  often.  Only  Gideon  is 
succeeded  by  his  son.  Each  of  the  great  judges  and 
some  of  the  less  important  should  have  careful  study. 
The  periods  of  "Rest"  were  the  delightful  times  in 
Israel.    The  book  of   Ruth   pictures   such  a  time. 


246  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

These  have  no  history  given  of  them.  The  best  times 
are  uneventful  always  and  everj^vhere  so  far  as  the 
changes  and  disturbances  are  concerned  which  occupy 
the  pages  of  history.  The  spiritual  and  social  decline 
is  seen  in  the  last  five  chapters.  They  contain 
two  narratives.  The  first  that  of  Micah  occurred 
near  the  beginning  of  the  period  and  shows  the  decline 
of  the  priesthood  and  spiritual  life.  The  second,  the 
war  with  Benjamin,  shows  the  coming  of  licentious- 
ness which  was  so  common  in  that  land  and  the  civil 
w^ar  that  ensued  and  the  partial  extermination  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin. 

The  last  of  the  invaders  were  the  Philistines.  Sam- 
son their  great  foe  only  partly  subdued  them.  Eli  w^ho 
seems  to  have  been  both  priest  and  judge  was  a  failure 
as  either.  He  w^as  the  last  of  the  judges.  In  passing 
from  the  judges  we  notice  they  were  of  great  variety 
of  character  and  method.  They  were  not  what  we 
would  call  spiritual  men  yet  some  of  them,  as  Jephthah 
and  Samson,  are  mentioned  among  the  heroes  of  faith. 
(Heb.  II 132.)  The  period  of  the  Judges  was  but  pre- 
paratory for  the  Kingdom  which  came  next.  During 
the  Judges  Israel,  notwithstanding  all  the  adversi- 
ties, increased  in  number  and  extended  in  territory. 
The  loose  form  of  government  under  the  Judges  was 
suitable  to  the  growing  state  of  the  nation  and  brought 
them  all  to  see  that  something  more  firm  and  central 
was  necessary  to  their  safety  and  usefulness.  This 
they  found  in  the  Kingdom. 


The  Judges  247 

Spiritual  Lessons. 

1.  Israel  in  Canaan  is  typical  of  the  oeliever  in  a 
state  of  rest  and  also  of  the  dangers  of  that  state.  He 
has  the  world  and  flesh  and  the  devil  still  to  contend 
with.  He  is  especially  exposed  to  the  contamination 
that  comes  from  worldly  society.  "Come  out  from 
among  them  and  be  ye  separate"  is  the  only  safety. 

2.  We  see  the  constant  tendency  of  declension  to 
follow  revivals.  It  has  ever  been  so.  The  enemy 
sows  tares  among  the  wheat. 

3.  God's  ways  of  blessing  his  church  in  times  of 
need  are  seen  in  the  great  judges  he  raised  up.  The 
best  gift  God  can  give  the  church  is  a  great  and  good 
leader.  The  Luthers  and  Wesleys  and  Moodys  have 
often  brought  the  church  out  of  low  spiritual  states. 

4.  The  certainty  of  chastisement  to  follow  apostasy 
and  backsliding  is  seen  plainly  in  this  narrative. 
Both  the  church  and  the  individual  may  read  the  ways 
of  God  here.     Backsliding  is  exceedingly  unsafe. 

5.  Israel  in  the  Judges  illustrates  a  new  born  soul 
abusing  its  liberty  in  Christ.  ''Every  man  doing  that 
which  is  right  in  his  own  eyes." 

6.  We  see  the  vicissitudes  of  the  believer.  Such  are 
not  in  Heaven  yet.  One  may  be  "In  Christ"  and 
have  many  sad  experiences. 

7.  The  various  classes  of  enemies  are  represented 
here.  Some  of  the  oppressors  were  blood  kindred  as 
the  Moabites,  others  not  at  all  connected,  as  the  Ca- 
naanites.     Our  temptations  come   from  within  and 


248  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

without.  The  Enemies  in  Canaan  seem  to  represent 
the  temptations  that  are  in  ourselves.  The  enemies 
from  outside  those  that  attack  from  without. 

8.  The  whole  period  shows  the  need  of  a  King. 
At  that  time  there  was  no  King  in  Israel."  God  was 
preparing  them  for  a  king  by  showing  them  their 
state  without  one.  So  the  believer  comes  to  see  by 
his  failures  that  something  stronger  than  himself 
is  needed.  He  must  be  not  only  "In  Christ"  but 
"Christ  in  him. "  This  we  will  see  was  effected  typi- 
cally  when  David  came  and  his  Messianic  line  of 
Kings. 

Some  special  lessons  are :  the  danger  of  mixed  mar- 
riages; in  Christian  work  the  weak  things  God  uses; 
Gideon's  lamps,  pitcher  and  trumpets;  the  failure  of 
vast  opportunities  as  Samson's  loss  of  power;  the  high 
place  woman  had  in  Israel  seen  in  "Deborah,"  the 
power  of  faith  and  courage  seen  in  Shamgar. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

RUTH 

Ruth  is  simply  a  chapter  in  the  time  of  the  Judges 
as  already  shown,  probably  she  lived  in  the  time  of 
rest  after  Deborah  and  Barek's  victory.  One  purpose 
of  this  book  is  declared  in  its  last  word,  David.  It 
gives  the  connecting  link  with  the  coming  king  and 
Kingdom,  and  gives  also  the  story  of  one  of  the  gentile 
ancestors  of  Christ.  Besides  all  this  it  gives  a  beau- 
tiful picture  of  one  of  the  many  times  of  rest  the  land 
had  when  Israel  was  loyal  to  God  and  God  was  bless- 
ing Israel.  It  has  a  further  use  in  its  great  moral 
and  spiritual  teachings  and  especially  as  a  picture,  in 
type,  of  the  gospel.  Its  picture  of  the  social  state  in 
the  times  of  the  Judges  comes  properly  first.  It  gives 
first  the  account  of  one  of  the  famines  that  fell  upon  the 
land  because  of  their  apostasy,  one  not  recorded  in 
Judges  but  threatened  by  God.  (Lev.  26: 12-20.)  It 
also  gives  us  knowledge  of  the  emigration  of  Israelites 
to  distant  lands  where  some  permanently  made  their 
homes  and  carried  the  truth  to  some  extent  with  them. 
It  confirms  also  the  existence  and  knowledge  and 
observance  to  some  extent  of  the  Mosaic  Law  in  the 
custom  of  attestation  in  releasing  land  rights  by  draw- 
ing ofif  the  shoe.  (Ruth  4:7-  Deut.  25:  7-10.)  A 
249 


250  The  Bible  As  It  Is 

beautiful  picture  of  harvest  times  and  social  life  is 
also  given  us  of  that  primitive  time. 

We  see  also  a  beautiful  type  of  the  Gentile  Church 
united  to  the  parent  stem,  that  Good  Olive  Tree  Paul 
speaks  of  (Rom.  10).  Here  is  foretold  the  ingather- 
ing of  the  Gentiles  through  the  widowed  nation  of 
Israel  in  the  later  days.  It  shows  Israel  as  the  center 
of  God's  plan  for  the  world. 

The  spiritual  teachings  of  an  mcidental  kind  are 
many.  The  most  important  centers  about  the  inter- 
view between  Ruth  and  Naomi,  and  in  the  beautiful 
words  spoken  by  Ruth.  (Ch.  1:16-17.)  These  words 
express  the  most  astonishing  devotion.  She  declares 
her  intention  to  give  up  home  and  friends,  native  land 
and  religion,  to  go  with  Naomi,  to  stay  with  her  where- 
ever  she  goes  or  stays,  to  remain  until  she  died  and  in 
the  place  Naomi  dies  there  will  Ruth  die  and  in  the 
place  of  her  sepulcher  there  will  she  herself  be  buried. 
There  is  but  one  other  instance  of  such  devotion 
written  and  that  is  the  words  of  Paul  ''It  is  no  longer 
I  that  love  but  Christ  that  liveth  in  me."  The  motive 
is  the  same.  It  is  spiritual  consecration  though  dimly 
understood  even  by  Ruth  who  made  the  consecration. 
We  need  to  study  the  influences  in  Naomi  that  drew 
Ruth  to  her.  We  see  an  example  of  the  power  of 
true  character,  of  true  religion  and  especially  of  sym- 
pathy in  drawing  souls  to  Christ. 

The  whole  gospel  is  here  in  type.  There  is  the 
wanderer  from  Israel  like  the  Prodigal  in  the  far 


Ruth  251 

country,  there  is  the  return  of  God,  and  the  reception 
by  the  great  Bridegroom  and  the  gathered  sheaves, 
and  the  restored  inheritance  and  the  Marriage  Supper 
of  the  Lamb. 

THE  OUTLINE. 

Ch.  I.  The  Migration  and  Return  of  the  Family  of 
Ruth. 

Ch.  2.  Ruth  among  the  Gleaners. 

Ch.  3.  Ruth  and  Boaz. 

Ch.  4.  Boaz  Redemption  of  the  Inheritance  and 
Marriage  to  Ruth.     Her  Descendents. 


